Three men sentenced over arson attack on Sussex mosque

James Everley, James Smith and Joshua Morris were sentenced to three years for the arson attack

Three men have been sentenced for an arson attack on a newly-renovated mosque in West Sussex.

James Everley, 20, of Crawley, James Smith, 20, of Burgess Hill, and Joshua Morris, 20, of Haywards Heath, were all sentenced to three years at a young offenders institute.

The fire at the mosque in Wivelsfield Road, Haywards Heath, was started at about 02:10 GMT on 13 February. Police believe the attack was a religiously-aggravated hate crime.

The men had pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court to arson, theft of paraffin and a public order offence, which involved racially or religiously aggravated fear of violence.

Ch Insp Jon Hull, district commander for Mid Sussex, said: "The mosque was occupied at the time this fire was started and it could have had devastating consequences if it hadn't been put out quickly. Thankfully only damage was caused to the building.

"Everyone who lives, works or visits Sussex has a right to go about their lives without becoming the victim of a hate crime because of their disability, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity."

The mosque had been renovated and had reopened three months before the attack.

BBC

Mosque arson accused's links to far right parties

One of the men accused of setting fire to a Stoke-on-Trent mosque was a member of the British National Party (BNP) and English Defence League (EDL).

Simon Beech was a serving soldier with the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, based at Weeton Barracks near Preston, Lancashire, when he is alleged to have set fire to the City Central Mosque in Regent Road, Hanley, in the early hours of December 3 last year.

He is accused of entering the mosque, which was still under construction, with his co-accused Garreth Foster. The Crown Prosecution Service allege the pair were responsible for starting a blaze on the ground floor and feeding a gas pipe upstairs, from a neighbouring property.

Beech, of Hilton Road, Hartshill, and Foster, aged 28, of Hartshill Road, Stoke, deny arson.

Yesterday at their trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court the jury heard Beech, aged 23, subscribed to Facebook and the EDL. Peter McMaster, an intelligence researcher with Staffordshire Police, said on November 10, less than a month before the arson, Beech posted comments including "Let's start bashing skulls, dirty, rotten rodents, they breed like rats here, they need to die like rats" and "I say we need to start taking things into our own hands because they are running the place".

The next day he posted "Get as many heads as we can, go and smash some skull and take over Shelton". And Beech said he "liked" a comment someone else posted – 'Nuke all mosques'. He also posted comments including "Time we took things into our hands," and "I say we put a stop to it before it's too late."

Also on November 11, Beech said: "The time has come we burn their place, burn the lot of them."

A statement from Army Captain James Athow-Frost said Beech shared a room with three other privates. He confirmed Beech had been at the barracks a short time and had not been deployed to Afghanistan. And he would not have had any training in explosives or bomb making equipment.

Earlier the court heard evidence from firefighters who attended the incident. Firefighter Alan Filson entered the building wearing breathing apparatus. He said he and a colleague used a thermal image camera to find the fire which was on the ground floor in the centre of the room. He did not see the pipe which came into the upstairs of the mosque from outside.

"You could not see more than half a foot in front of your face," he told the jury. "The flames were from the floor to the ceiling in the central area of the ground floor."

Fire investigation officer Brian Griffiths said there was a large amount of black smoke pouring out when he arrived. He said a large quantity of building materials were used in the fire as well as insulation boards, wooden pallets and packaging. A small gas cylinder was also found near the seat of the fire.

"My conclusion was it was a deliberate fire," said Mr Griffiths.

Sarah Sweetmore, who arrived at her workplace in Regent Road at 9.20am, said: "I could see the hose was connected to the gas meter. I remember hearing a hissing sound and feeling very frightened."

The case continues.

This is Staffordshire

Mindless EDL thugs storm Muslim exhibition in Cradley Heath market

A Muslim book stall in Cradley Heath market was stormed by over 25 thugs from the English Defence League this weekend.

The shocking attack occurred in front of shoppers, many of which were women and children, at the market at 2.30pm on Saturday. The local Ahmadiyya Muslim book stall and Qur’an exhibition was attacked and volunteers were manhandled and abused by members of the Far Right organisation.

Shocked Ahmadiyya outreach worker Toby Ephram described the scene in the market. He said: “About 25 of the EDL group stormed our stall in Cradley Heath pushing, shoving and threatening our members. We have the book stall to raise awareness of our work in Britain and in the local community we are proud to be British Muslims and this incident saddened us. Our motto is ‘Love for All - Hatred for None’ and we do not meet violence with violence so we just stood there and did not respond to the provocation.”

He added: “I’d like to thank the police for responding to the problem so quickly and controlling the situation and we will be back as usual at the market on Saturday.”

Last week the News reported the Muslim group was setting up the stall and exhibition in a bid to ‘increase understanding and improve community cohesion’.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP James Morris condemned the incident and branded it an ignorant and mindless attack. He said: “The people storming the stall may claim that they are defending their English identity, but tolerance for other people’s views and beliefs has long been a key part of what it means to be English. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Cradley Heath actively works to help different sections of our society to live peacefully alongside each other, whatever their religion.”

He added: “This mindless attack is absolutely deplorable and can only have been caused by ignorance of the views and action of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community locally.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “We were called at 1.40pm with reports of people causing a disturbance in the Market Square area of Cradley Heath. “Officers attended the scene and the groups dispersed.”

On Boxing Day 2009 Cradley Heath Mosque and Islamic Centre in Plant Street was burnt to the ground by arsonists.

Halesowen News

Man who nailed bacon to mosque door walks free

SPARED JAIL ... John White nailed bacon to the door of a mosque

A churchgoer who stuck bacon to the door of a mosque in South Tyneside as part of a religious hate campaign was branded “un-Christian” by a judge.

But John White, 63, walked free from court after the chairman of the mosque wrote a letter to court, begging for leniency.

White was caught on CCTV carrying out the attacks in South Shields in January, Newcastle Crown Court heard. On January 2, the bacon was placed outside the Jam-E-Masjid mosque, in Baring Street, South Shields, which has about 200 regular worshippers. Throughout the month, meat was repeatedly left outside the mosque and a member’s home in Coston Drive, South Shields, was also targeted, with bacon even being stuck to the front door of the mosque.

Tom Moran, prosecuting, said: “Muslims are not allowed to eat or touch pork, and this was absolutely intended to be offensive.”

The bacon was found by the mosque’s treasurer, who covered it with a cardboard box to prevent other members from being offended, then called the police. In a victim impact statement, the family whose home was targeted said they feared that the action was the work of an extremist group.

Mr Moran said: “South Shields has a substantial Bangladeshi and Muslim community, and, by and large, they are well integrated. These offences coincided with a time when in other parts of the world, right-wing extremists were threatening to burn the Quran (the central religious text of the Muslim religion).”

Concerned that the attacks could be sinister threats from a right-wing group, police trawled through CCTV footage before arresting White. He admitted five charges of religiously aggravated harassment, but claimed that his motivations were personal, targeting a particular Muslim family, over a 20-year grudge.

The court heard that White, a Christian, has attended a church on the same street as the mosque for 20 years. White, of Homestall Close in South Shields, who suffers from asthma and a compulsive disorder, has worked in the town for 30 years, doing building work. He is said to have friends within the Muslim community, and claims to have worked on some of their houses for free.

He has been held in custody since he entered his guilty plea in July.

Simon Graham, defending, said: “He is thoroughly ashamed for what he has done. He was praying this morning. This is a man who has not been in trouble for 30 years. He is not in good health and has had a terrible time in prison.”

White submitted a letter to the court, apologising to the community for what he had done.

Despite the fear he caused to the Muslim and Bangladeshi community, chairman of the Jam-E-Masjid mosque, Mohammed Miah, asked the judge to show leniency. In a letter read out in court, Mr Miah described how he had known White since 1982 and said he was known and liked in the community.

He said: “We wish the courts to be lenient with John. Although we were upset initially, we do not wish for any serious consequences to happen to John.”

Judge Michael Cartlidge commended the forgiving attitude of the Muslim community and condemned White’s actions as “un-Christian” and “stupid”. White was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months. He is also now banned for 12 months from going within 100 metres of the mosque or the family home he targeted.

Passing sentence, Judge Cartlidge said: “This is probably the most un-Christian way to settle a grudge. You will have to be very careful now, you have upset the community.”

The Shields Gazette

Thanks to Zaahid for the heads-up

Teenager admits sickening mosque attack

A teenager shouted racial abuse as he kicked and stamped on a 71-year-old grandfather’s head for 10 minutes. And he later sent a sickening text boasting about his horrifying actions.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Monday, the 16-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – pleaded guilty to carrying out the vicious attack outside the Ayrshire Central Mosque in July. His victim, who had already suffered a stroke, sustained severe facial injuries in the unprovoked attack which took place in the early hours of the morning.

Nancy Beresford, prosecuting, said that the former Crosshouse shopkeeper had gone to the mosque, in Hill Street, Kilmarnock, to prepare for Friday prayers at around 1.40am. As he approached the door, clad in white robes, he noticed a male and two females, along with young children, standing in the street, with another group of females nearby.

The 16-year-old then came towards him shouting abuse, including “Paki bastard”. He punched the pensioner in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground. The teenager continued the assault, while still shouting abuse.

Said Mrs Beresford: “He became unconscious as a result of the attack. He was not aware of anything further until he woke up later in hospital.”

The assault was, however, witnessed, by two people watching from a flat in Hill Street.

“Their attention was attracted by shouting,” said Mrs Beresford. “They saw a figure lying on the ground and noticed the male attacker was kicking and stamping on the prostrate man’s head. This continued for what they thought was about 10 minutes.”

The attacker ran off into Witch Road.

The assault victim – described as a pillar of the community and well-known in the Kilmarnock area for 40 years by the chairman of the mosque – was found lying in a pool of blood by two other members of the mosque. He was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital. He was found to have a number of severe facial fractures and swelling. Fortunately, however, he had no fractures to his skull.

Mrs Beresford said that, as a result of media reports, police received a number of anonymous calls naming the attacker. CCTV evidence also established that he had been in the area at the time of the assault. And footage from cameras at the Diageo plant in Hill Street showed a male matching his description walking towards the mosque with two girls.

Mrs Beresford said that police were able to identify and trace one of the females. She named the accused.

Said Mrs Beresford: “She described him punching him, knocking him to the ground and kicking and stamping on him several times. A further witness had received a text message from him in the early hours stating: ‘I have just left a Paki in a puddle of blood’.”

Police swooped on the teenager’s home where they failed to find him, but seized a number of items. He was later discovered hiding in the loft of a Kilmarnock house. Interviewed, he denied the assault and racial abuse.

The 16-year-old told police that he couldn’t understand “why somebody was praying at that time in the morning”.

Allan Kerr, defending, told Sheriff Iona McDonald that she would require to obtain reports before sentencing the teenager as he was 16 and subject to the supervision of the Children’s Panel.

“He is presently at a place of safety,” said the solicitor.

Sheriff McDonald deferred sentence until next month for a social work report and the advice of the Children’s Panel. She told the teen: “You have pleaded guilty to a serious assault. It is nothing short of appalling.”

Kilmarnock Standard

Thanks to Zaahid for the heads-up

Three men fined after pig's head stunt

Three men in a group which placed a pig's head at the site of a proposed mosque were told they should be ashamed of themselves by a magistrate.

Nicholas Long, 22, of Needham Road, Arnold, Robert Parnham, 19, of Farnborough Road, Clifton, and Wayne Havercroft, 41, of Millbank Place, Bestwood Village, all pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment after the pig's head was put on a 4ft pole in Collington Way, West Bridgford, on June 23.

The head was found along with an offensive message and 'No mosque here EDL Notts' written on the pavement.

The court heard Parnham bought it from a butchers and tried to sell it by sending a text message to all his contacts. He received a response from Christopher Payne, who was given a suspended sentence, fined £250 and banned from going to West Bridgford in July.

Payne and the trio were present when the head was put on the stick, and Havercroft admitted he took a photo and sent it to his daughter and asked her to put in on Facebook.

Havercroft, an ex-member of the EDL, also pleaded guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment on June 25 after he shouted at people manning a stall about Islam in the city centre. He pulled out a St George's flag and shouted "You are all with Osama Bin Laden".

In mitigation for Parnham and Long, Robert Keeble said the pair were both appalled and ashamed. He said: "They both entered guilty pleas at the first time of asking."

Julia Haywood, in mitigation for Havercroft, said he had borderline personality disorder. She said: "On June 25, Mr Havercroft failed to take his medication and his behaviour can become erratic if he doesn't have it. He was a member of the EDL and joined last year after being incensed by the poppy burning incident."

Long and Parnham were fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs. Havercroft was fined £400, with £170 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

Nottingham magistrate Colin Wharmby said: "All three of you should be ashamed of what you did, thoroughly ashamed."

This is Nottingham

Men admit spraying racist words on mosque

Two men have admitted daubing racist graffiti on a mosque and two Asian-run business premises.

Anthony Donald Smith, 24, and 32-year-old Steven James Vasey yesterday both pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit racially aggravated criminal damage, between November 1 and 17, last year.

It relates, specifically, to spray painting offensive messages on the Nasir mosque, in Brougham Place, Hartlepool, as well as at the Milko store, in Potto Street, and at the Albert Guest House, in Front Street, both in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, all said to have taken place on November 11. Smith, of Neptune Way, Easington Colliery, and Vasey, of Prior’s Grange, High Pittington, near Durham, entered their pleas at a short hearing at Durham Crown Court, yesterday.

Barristers Shaun Dryden, for Vasey, and Stephen Constantine, for Smith, requested reports be prepared by the Probation Service before the men are sentenced. Judge John Evans agreed and adjourned the hearing for sentence on a day to be agreed in the week of October 3. Bailing the two men, he warned them: “The fact I’m adjourning mustn’t be taken by either of you as any indication as to the way you are sentenced. That will up to the judge who sentences you in October.”

They will be sentenced alongside a third defendant, co-accused Charlotte Christina Davies. The 19-year-old single mother, of Irving Path, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, is facing the same charge. She appeared in the court on Friday, August 19, when the hearing was told that she intends to plead guilty.

Davies was said to have sent text messages suggesting pork scratchings should be thrown at the mosque, or a pig’s head could be left there, with “Merry Christmas” daubed above the door, on the day before the start of the Muslim festival of Eid.

Jane Waugh, for Davies, told that hearing she would be pleading guilty on the basis that whatever she suggested was not carried out by any of the others. Her case was adjourned, and probation reports were requested for her next hearing, when she will appear with Vasey and Smith, in the week of October 3.

Northern Echo

Islamophobic attack on Luton mosque

A mosque was vandalised in an Islamophobic attack in Luton in the early hours of July 23. They smashed windows and spray painted ‘EDL’ and a swastika on the walls of the mosque.

The incident is the latest in a chain of arson and vandalism attacks on mosques and the property of many Muslims in Luton – a town where the English Defence League (EDL), anti Muslim, anti Islam group - is largely active.

Imam Shahid Ahmed from the Medina mosque related to The Muslim News about the attack. “When I locked the mosque up at 11pm everything was okay. When I returned at 4am for morning prayers I found two windows smashed and the words ‘EDL’ and a swastika painted on the walls.”

Ahmed said the “racists who attacked the mosque are ignorant.” He added, “This is a place of worship. They have no understanding for people of any religion.”

Maqsood Anwar, a member of the mosques’ committee and a local, describes the attacks as “disgusting” and told The Muslim News that this was not the first time a mosque in Luton has been attacked. “Last year, petrol bombs were thrown into a local mosque causing considerable damage. Many cars have been scratched and spray painted with words such as ‘EDL,’ he said.

A spokesman for Luton Council told The Muslim News that the Council “is appalled by this action and condemns it in the strongest possible terms.” The spokesman said they will be looking into having “additional lighting in the area – to help provide further reassurance to everyone.”

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman told The Muslim News that investigation “is still on-going as we take these kinds of crimes very seriously indeed and we know that all communities find them offensive and frightening.” However, the police refused to to say whether the attack was Islamophobic. “At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest who is responsible for this incident or what the person's motive may have been,” the Spokesman said.

The Muslim News

How stupid are EDL members? (Part 643)

Click on image for full-size

The EDL battles to stop more mosques being built in, er, Narnia...

@everythingedl

Woman admits part in racism

A single mother said to be a member of the English Defence League (EDL) has admitted her part in an incident which saw racist remarks daubed on buildings including a mosque.

Charlotte Christina Davies, 19, intends to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit racially aggravated criminal damage, Durham Crown Court heard yesterday.

The teenager, from Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, was charged after slogans were spray-painted on the Nasir mosque, in Hartlepool, and the Albert Guest House and Milko store, in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, on November 16, last year.

Ms Davies sent text messages suggesting people throw pork scratchings, leave a pig’s head and daub Merry Christmas above a door the day before the beginning of the Muslim festival of Eid, David Crook, prosecuting, told the court.

No charges were formally put to Ms Davies yesterday but Jane Waugh, for Ms Davies, said her client would be pleading guilty on an agreed basis. That basis would include that whatever she suggested was not carried out, she said.

Ms Waugh asked for a presentence report be compiled on Ms Davies – a request agreed by Judge John Evans, who adjourned her case to be heard at Durham Crown Court in the week beginning Monday, October 3, and granted her unconditional bail until that date.

The judge told Ms Davies: “Your case is now adjourned to the week of October 3. It’s adjourned for a pre-sentence report, which will be prepared on the basis you intend to plead guilty. The fact that I’m admitting you to bail must not be taken by you as any indication of your sentence.”

At the time of her arrest, Durham Police said Ms Davies claimed to be a member of the EDL, a far right protest movement.

Northern Echo

Thanks to Greg for the heads-up

‘We’ll burn your mosques’: Taunts of hate by an EDL supporter

A member of a far-right group threatened to burn down mosques during a drunken rant in Halifax town centre, a court heard.

Andrew Ossitt, 40, from Newquay, came to Halifax on April 2, along with around 60 other English Defence League protesters. He was part of a group who came into town after a demonstration in Blackburn. They congregated outside the Courtyard pub, Wards End, Halifax.

Another man, Dennis Farrell, 26, of High Lees Road, Halifax, also appeared at Calderdale Magistrates’ Court. He will face trial on November 3 after denying two charges of using threatening words and racially or religiously aggreviated harassment.

Scores of police went to the pub at 6pm and marched the group back to the train station.

Vanessa Schofield, prosecuting, said: “Officers’ attention was drawn to Andrew Ossitt. He was walking along, slightly behind the group. He raised both arms in the air and shouted, ‘These are our streets, Muslims off the streets,’.

Ossitt admitted using threatening words to cause harassment alarm or distress and a second charge of religiously aggravated harassment and was fined £100. Mohammed Farooq, representing Ossitt, told the court although he joined in with chanting, he was not an instigator.

He said: “At no point was it his intention to be part of any demonstration outside the pub. A few members began chanting, a few more joined in. Due to him being in drink at the time he began to chant ‘You burn the poppies, and we will burn the mosques,’. Andrew Ossitt says at the time of making these remarks he did not feel he was going to cause anyone any alarm, harassment or distress. With hindsight he said had there been members of the Muslim community there, they would have done.”

His solicitor said Ossitt felt “aggrieved” at being prosecuted. “He has been singled out from that demonstration and used as a scapegoat here in court. He has said there should be 60 or so EDL stood next to him,” said Mr Farooq

He said Ossitt has not attended any English Defence League meetings since April.

As well as the £100 fine, chairwoman Anthea Atkinson told Ossitt to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

“Our aim is to punish you, which we believe this will do. If this offence had not been religiously aggreviated, you would have paid £30 but it has been increased to reflect the religious aggreviation,” she said.

Halifax Courier

EDL member admits mosque attack

A member of the English Defence League has admitted taking part in a spray paint attack on a mosque.

Charlotte Davies, 19, will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit racially aggravated criminal damage. She travelled from her home in Irving Path, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, to Durham Crown Court where she indicated she admitted her part in the graffiti attack in November. The Nasir Mosque in Hartlepool, a shop and a guest house were sprayed.

The plea was not formally entered although the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be carried out and she will be sentenced in October.

Anthony Smith, 24, of Neptune Way, Easington Colliery, County Durham, and Steven Vasey, 32, of Prior's Grange, Pittington, County Durham, are accused of the same offence and they will enter pleas next Friday.

Independent

'Cambridge is in the grip of terrorists'

Claims from far-right activists that Cambridge is in the grip of terrorists have been branded "outrageous".

Members of the Cambridge Division of the English Defence League (EDL), who are preparing for a march next Saturday, said Muslim “extremists” are “pervasive” in the city. They also defended accusations they are racist, saying “the Cambridge Division’s organiser’s best mate is black”.

The group is marching next Saturday in protest at the building of a mosque in Mill Road. The march will clash with Cambridge’s Big Weekend celebrations. Designs for the Islamic centre go before the city council’s design and conservation committee on Wednesday.

The EDL division’s website says: “The EDL Cambridge Division is a group of lads who have had enough of the Islamic extremists so pervasive in Cambridge. We are saying enough is enough and are making a stand. For too long Islamic terrorists have had Cambridge under their thumb, but no longer!”

The group also states Muslims “keep demanding the ‘right’ to apply for planning permission” to build mosques. The website says: “If we were in the countries these Muslims are from we would respect their way of life. No-one would build a church in say, India, and absolutely no one would practise Christianity in Saddam’s Iraq.”

In fact, 3 per cent of Iraqis are Christian and the faith is India’s third-largest religion. Both countries have Christian churches.

Mirza Baig, vice-chairman of Cambridge Muslim Council, told the News: “Although the Cambridge Division of EDL claims to be a non-racist group, the website is full of racist remarks. We support EDL when they condemn terrorism and radicalism. However, they very quickly jump on to condemning all Muslims. Unfortunately, they are doing it in the name of British culture. According to my understanding this is not the correct face of the British culture. While giving out a hate message, EDL forgets every fifth person in the world is Muslim.”

Cllr Lewis Herbert, a Labour city councillor who is organising a counter protest, branded the EDL branch’s claims contemptible – but warned the national group was a serious threat. He said: “There is no room in this city for stirring up hatred and the EDL haven’t any support in this city. The website actually shows what they really think about the right of people to have places of worship. Their claims are clearly outrageous.”

The website adds: “We are ready to take action against the terrorists wherever they strike in Cambridge.”

EDL leader Tommy Robinson was yesterday unavailable for comment but previously told the News he wants the march to be “peaceful” and that the group is “not racist”.

Cambridge News

Thanks to NewHound for the heads-up

Man sprays anti-mosque graffiti at West Bridgford site

A 25-year-old English Defence League member has pleaded guilty to daubing racist graffiti on land being considered as a site for a mosque.

Christopher Payne of Hucknall admitted spraying the graffiti but denied putting a pig's head on the site in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. He appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court and will be sentenced on 21 July.

Police went to the property on 23 June where the slogan "No Mosque Here" was found spray painted on the ground.

Payne pleaded guilty to causing racially or religiously aggravated alarm, dissent or distress and causing racially aggravated criminal damage. Three other men aged 19, 21 and 31, have been arrested and questioned about the incident.

Payne, of Beardsmore Close, Hucknall, who is an events planner for the English Defence League, told the court that he sprayed the slogan but did not put the pig's head on the grassland. He was granted bail with a curfew but ordered to stay out of West Bridgford and not to go within 200m of a mosque. He has also been told not to have any public association with the English Defence League.

A member of the public reported finding the graffiti near Collington Way in West Bridgford on Thursday.

BBC

400 will march against new Cambridge mosque, claims EDL

The English Defence League (EDL) claims 400 people will march through Cambridge against plans for a new mosque in Mill Road.

Cambridgeshire police are gearing up for the far-right group’s demonstration and a counter-protest by Unite Against Fascism on Saturday, July 9.

EDL leader Tommy Robinson told the News he expects up to 400 people will attend the march against plans for a new £13 million mosque in Mill Road to replace the one in Mawson Road, which has space for just 500 of the city’s 4,000 Muslims.

He said: "We are against the building of this mosque which will be the biggest in East Anglia and we have had a lot of people in Cambridge contacting us who are worried about it. We are against the building of all mosques because they preach homophobia and anti-Semitism which we should not tolerate in this country."

The march clashes with The Ridgeons Big Weekend on Parker’s Piece.

An EDL march in Peterborough last year was policed by about 1,000 officers from 18 forces.

A police spokeswoman said: "Plans are under way to ensure an appropriate police response on the day. The force fully supports people’s right to peaceful protest, as well as ensuring minimal disruption to the people of Cambridge."

Councillors, trade unionists, Cambridge Muslim Council and Cambridge Islamic have signed a declaration saying EDL is "deeply Islamophobic" and aim to "divide us by making scapegoats of one community, just as the Nazis did with the Jews in the 1930s".

Richard Rose, Cambridge’s national officer for Unite Against Fascism, said: "The EDL is trying to divide our city but Cambridge loves its multi-cultural mix and they will fail."

Muslim leader Abdul Arain, Mill Road store owner and Chancellor of Cambridge University candidate, said: "In Mill Road you will find the melting pot of Cambridge and you will find the EDL really do not have any support here or indeed across the city."

Cambridge News

Shamed Lincolnshire teenager guilty of attack on Muslim policeman

A 17-year-old youth has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work after carrying out a religiously aggravated attack on a police officer.

The Cherry Willingham youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previously found guilty of assaulting off-duty Muslim police officer PC Rizwaan Chothia by Lincoln magistrates following a two-day trial held earlier this month.

He faced trial alongside Daniel Odling, 26, of High Street, Blyton, near Gainsborough, who was found guilty of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and fined £450 and ordered to pay £500 costs plus a £15 victims' surcharge.

During the trail, the court heard how a group of six or seven men entered the Grandstand on Carholme Road, where 30 to 40 Muslims were gathered for a meeting on July 9 last year, and behaved in a threatening manner. The meeting was held to identify a site for a new place of worship after the Lincoln Islamic Association's application for a mosque in Boultham Park Road was rejected.

Magistrates were told the uninvited group turned up following publicity about the event, and used profane and blasphemous language against the Muslim community members who were gathered.

Jane Loader, prosecuting, said: "Some of the men entered the meeting hall and were abusive to members of the Muslim community. The males and some attendees at the meeting then went outside and a confrontation took place. The 17-year-old youth approached PC Chothia and said 'come on then' while gesturing with his hands. He was trying to antagonise him and provoke a reaction but PC Chothia did not respond. The youth swung his right arm, making contact with PC Chothia's face in a punch-come-slap motion. Again, PC Chothia did not respond."

The court heard that PC Chothia was uninjured in the attack but alarmed and distressed by the group's intrusion and blasphemy. He had recognised the 17-year-old youth, who has no previous convictions, from a photograph at the police station.

In mitigation, magistrates were told the youth deeply regretted going to the meeting.

Sunil Khanna, defending, said: "He lashed out but it is accepted no injury was caused. He never used any blasphemous language or comments about Islam. This incident occurred because he followed other people and was led down the wrong path but he has now come a long way from the views he held a year ago."

Chairman of the bench Hefina Brumpton gave the youth a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and a 12-month supervision order. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work pay £100 costs.

This is Lincolnshire

Police probe anti-Muslim website attacking Wrexham Mosque plan

Police are investigating a sick anti-Muslim website set up on Facebook to stir up tensions over fake claims a ‘super-mosque’ was being built in Wrexham.

The site “No to the super mosque in Wrexham” on the social network site wrongly claims permission has been given for a mosque at the Miners Institute in North Wales’s largest town. And the website, which bears the Welsh Defence League logo, is also filled with hateful messages against Muslims, which North Wales Police are now investigating.

The web group has more than 2,800 members and this follows a march by the Welsh Defence League designed to stir up tensions in the town. A counter group “Yes to the Super Mosque in Wrexham” has also been set up on Facebook.

The Wrexham Muslim Association (WMA) has denied there are any plans to convert the town’s Miners Institute building into a mosque but said there were plans to lease a small building in the town for worship. A spokesman for the WMA said: “There is nothing in this rumour we are setting up a mosque at the Miners Institute. We simply do not have enough money to do anything like that. But we are hopeful of leasing a place from the council next to St James’ Church in Wrexham.”

Commenting on the anti-Muslim remarks on the webpage on Facebook the spokesman added: “They are upsetting and annoying and I don’t want to pay any attention to such remarks.”

Ian Tetherington, secretary for anti-fascist group Searchlight Cymru, said: “A mosque is not something to be scared of, it would be something to be proud of. Wrexham has a history of tolerance and should be proud of that. These people are Welsh, they just happen to be Muslims, instead of Christians or Hindus, but they are still Welsh and just want somewhere to worship like other faiths.

“I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with them worshipping in a safe, dry place. The idea this is a ‘super-mosque’ is a complete fabrication made up to stir things up and create tension. There are a few hundred Muslims in Wrexham so why would they want a huge place of worship, this is simply not the case. Like other faiths in the town they just want somewhere to meet rather than the temporary building where they are currently having to meet. I live close to a mosque myself in Cardiff and do not understand why people would have an issue with it.”

A North Wales Police spokesman said: “We are aware of the site and are investigating. We are also liaising with members of the local community.”

Daily Post

Anti-Muslim groups protest in vain

Odious as they are, the Harrow mosque protests will make our community of Muslims and non-Muslims stronger

Sunday saw the return to Harrow of the English Defence League (EDL) and another group, Stop the Islamification of Europe (SIOE) for an anti-mosque demonstration. The last one was held three months ago to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The groups were protesting against the building of an extension to Harrow Central Mosque, an extension that will include multi-purpose conference suites, a fitness centre, library, nursery, IT centre and a coffee shop all accessible to the public. The mosque has held open days for the local community, engaged in important local interfaith work and played its part in building good community relations. Which is why there was widespread support from both religious and secular leaders for the mosque and its work at its press conference on Tuesday.

Harrow mosque had extended an invitation to SIOE to discuss what their concerns were and to open up lines of communication. This offer was flatly rejected in favour of public grandstanding. SIOE's current position – as articulated by its spokesman on Comment is free – is that all Muslims are extremists and those that claim to be moderates are lying. It is not entirely clear how promoting this worldview without inciting hatred or violence is possible.

The EDL managed to muster 15 protestors and the SIOE another 15. Both came and left Harrow at different times. However, despite their farcical turnout, the very threat of their presence required a huge police response of 800 officers that will probably cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. From the SIOE's point of view this is a low cost, asymmetric war of attrition. Their members simply turn up in their small numbers – or threaten to turn up – knowing full well the expense to the taxpayer and to community relations. Their calculation is that only a handful of young Muslims need to be provoked into overreacting for the headlines they seek. The fact that is often overlooked is that the mosque or "community elders" have as much control over these youths as non-Muslim "community elders" do over theirs. In the end, most young Muslims chose to vote with their feet and not to attend.

However, this kind of anti-Muslim bigotry has resulted in some interesting new dynamics. An attack on a mosque is an attack on a very sacred institution – as an attack on any place of worship would be. Muslim professionals who would otherwise not have been involved in mosque activities came forward to assist the mosque. In the past professionals have often been so disappointed with the competence of those managing the mosques that they have tended not to invest their time and expertise in them. Some mosque managers have also been quite content with this arrangement, running them on tribal lines, more suited to Pakistani villages than British cities. Given the external threat now directed at mosques and the need for them to raise their game in the public domain, there might now be a greater convergence between these two groups.

Sunday also saw a much welcome boost to interfaith relations with Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and non-faith leaders pledging support to the mosque. One journalist at the mosque on Sunday joked that he thought he'd turned up at the local synagogue given the numbers of Rabbis present. Some Jews, in particular, feel a wary sense of the risk that darker chapters of Europe's history might be repeated. This provided a powerful response to the SIOE who had come waving Israeli flags in order to provoke a response.

Will the anti-Muslim bigots come down to Harrow again? Possibly. They are part of a Europe-wide trend against its own minorities. However, so long as communities remain firm in their opposition to all forms of bigotry and extremism then, in the long run, it may make us all a bit stronger.

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