The War on Islam – No Free Speech for Muslims

An inner city Muslim Youth Group called “The Ministry of Dawah” is the latest target in the most extreme campaign of fearmongering and lies in the ongoing War on Islam.

The Ministry of Dawah is a group of young people who provide activities and talks about Islam to the inner city youth of London, but have recently had the venue that they have used for more than two years taken from them. I wrote here about the campaign against them which is run by pro Israel Jews and a pro Israel Muslim namely the totally banal ignoramous on Islam Hasan Afzal of Stand for Peace and more infamously British Muslims for Israel.

The Jewish Chronicle published the most spurious attack on Ministry of Dawah on May 17th with this alarming headline

Camden Council giving al-Qaeda group freedom to preach

I really can’t believe that they can print such a spurious allegation and get away with it. I really hope that Muslims and those who believe in Freedom of Speech will donate money to help this youth group take this case to court. In fact I think we really need to start a campaign to raise money and support them in pursuing justice against those who wish to control all discourse on Islam and on the Israel/Palestine conflict in particular.  This tactic of creating fear and mistrust of Muslims really has to stop. As if the Metropolitan police and the British Government, are going to let a youth group remain unmonitored. Muslims are monitored more than any other religious grouping. Every Muslim group and every Islamic activity is infiltrated at every level by undercover police and government agents, we have been aware of this for years it is out in the open as part of the Prevent strategy. So how in all seriousness do the Jewish Chronicle claim that an Al Qaeda group is given freedom to operate under the noses of the authorities in the heart of London? What’s more all the Ministry of Dawah talks and activities are on Youtube and Facebook in the public domain.

Here is a video of the Eid party the Ministry of Dawah provided for the inner city youth at the end of Ramadan 2011.  Watching it gives one an insight into the kind of activities that the Ministry of Dawah are providing to the Muslim community, many of whom may be far from their extended families and loved ones during Islams biggest annual celebration. Muslim youth, like any other, have many problems to face in the U.K. and it makes a positive difference to their lives to have an environment where they can find guidance from other youth of  similar background, religion and culture and where they can exchange ideas freely and discuss the issues they face such as gangs and drug culture.  Groups like the Ministry of Dawah are desperately needed to get these kids off the streets and to give them some Islamic moral guidance.

This week I was astounded to read a letter from Camden councillor Mike Katz to the Jewish Chronicle, here is an extract

Sadly, the MoD is not proscribed by law (and it should be), so you would expect any public authority to undertake due diligence before taking action.  We do not want to hand an odious outfit like the MoD a propaganda victory (or, worse, leave us open to legal challenge) as they claim discrimination or that their freedom of speech has been curtailed.

Totally Shocking! Mike Katz believes that the Ministry of Dawah should be proscribed.

Let us look exactly at the definition of what Mike Katz is saying here

Proscription (Latin: proscriptio) is the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. Proscription implies the elimination en masse of political rivals or personal enemies, and frequently occurs during violent revolutions, most especially with the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. Proscription was involved in the political violence in Argentina against Peronists after Perón fled into exile.

Proscription is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a “decree of condemnation to death or banishment” and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved murder or persecution.

He goes on to say

Camden has worked constructively with StandforPeace and other like-minded organisations when extremist organisations have sought to use the council’s facilities. We all have the same objective – protecting our youngsters from the evil of Islamist hate propaganda.  I would prefer to focus on that, rather than having to correct unfair slurs on Camden which has always acted in the best of intentions in this regard.

But wait – just who is Stand for Peace and are they qualified to say who is extremist or who are hate preachers? If Britain is so riddled with hate preachers and extremist groups why are the police and MI6 not taking action against them? How come policing Muslims and the Israel/Palestine discourse is now left to the Pro Israel Jews, The Jewish Chronicle and a pro Israel Muslim?

Mike Katz then ends his letter with an affirmation of Camden Councils pro Jewish credentials

Camden prides itself on its diversity and its tolerance for all minorities. We are home to the Jewish Museum and a number of synagogues; we take pride in our strong and vibrant Jewish heritage.  We will not tolerate any group or person preaching hate in our Borough and are always ready to take firm action to prevent this.

So now we see the propaganda machine at work to control speech in the U.K. – pro Israel groups such as Stand for Peace and Students rights in particular, who are run by so called Muslims are apparently listened to and yet they are run by people with zero authority to make any claims about who or what is extreme – especially due to their obvious lack of knowledge and understanding of classic Islamic texts and teachings.

The Ministry of Dawah have written to the Jewish Chronicle read their letter here.

I ask every Muslim and every person who believes that freedom of speech should not be policed and controlled by pro Israel interest groups in the U.K. to write to Mike Katz at Camden council and the Jewish Chronicle to support not just the youth group Ministry of Dawah but all those who are falling victim to a propaganda war against Islam and in particular those Muslims who are speaking out against the injustice that Israel is perpretrating against the Palestinian people.

Posted by Laura Stuart on June 1, 2012. Filed under Britain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.