British MPs urge probe of anti-Islam website

Rasa - A group of British lawmakers have urged an investigation of a far-right website which plans to exhibit cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in London, describing its messages as a training manual for anti-Muslim paramilitaries.

News ID: 3042

Date: 29 July 2015 - 23:23

RNA - “I am shocked that the Gates of Vienna website can publish articles promoting a strategy for civil war,” Labour MP Ian Austin told the Guardian, adding that he will be raising the issue with Theresa May.

“At a time when we should all be concerned about terrorism it is imperative that the police investigate this website and those behind the calls for civil war and I’ll be raising this with the home secretary.”

The Labour MP was referring to the far-right website, Gates of Vienna, which has been heavily promoting an upcoming exhibition of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in London.

Describing it as a training manual for anti-Muslim paramilitaries, Labour MPs Ian Austin, Ruth Smeeth, Imran Hussain, Paula Sherriff, Wes Streeting and John Cryer wrote a letter to the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, asking her to consider if the site’s owners are breaching the law.

“It is clear that these are the ideas that inspired Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik and as such it is deeply troubling that they are available to inspire others," the letter reads.

"We would urge you to investigate the Gates of Vienna website and take appropriate action if anyone involved is deemed to be promoting terrorism and civil disorder.”

Scheduled to be held on September 18, the London exhibition to feature the same drawings shown in Texas last May when two gunmen were shot dead by police after attacking the event.

The exhibition, which tickets priced £35, will be attended by be Geert Wilders, the Dutch rightwing politician who has espoused controversial views on Islam.

Organized by the former Ukip parliamentary candidate Anne-Marie Water, the anti-Islam is co-hosted by Vive Charlie, an online magazine set up after the attacks on the offices of the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo in Paris last January.

Promoting the event, Waters said in a statement on Sharia Watch: “It is vital, in this era of censorship and fear, that we stand together in defiance and demand our right to free expression.

“We will not, and cannot, succumb to violent threats. The outlook for our democracy depends on the actions we take today.”

The Labour MPs criticism of the event was echoed by the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate that called for banning the event.

“Our concern is that the event is intended to provoke a reaction from British Muslims. It is not about freedom of speech, it is about incitement," Nick Lowles, Hope Not Hate’s chief executive, told The Guardian.

"The authorities cannot allow this event to go ahead. Communities shouldn’t rise to their bait, we must stand together as a show of strength.”

Lowles said he believed the site was hosted on British servers.

“If a Muslim had a similar website, which includes bomb manuals and details about assassinations and establishing paramilitary groups, then you can be sure action would be taken,” he added.

Labour MP Austen added that the exhibition of Prophet Muhammad cartoons was “clearly [intended] to provoke a reaction from British Muslims and we must all ensure this does not happen”.

The "Jihad Watch Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" was organized by right-wing, anti-Muslim advocate Pam Geller, co-founder of the Freedom Defense and Stop Islamization of America initiatives, who has been denounced by numerous rights organizations, including both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center for her anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate campaigns.

In a bid to further offend Muslims, she even offered a $10,000 prize to the contest winner drawing the most despicable cartoon of Prophet Muhammad.

Geert Wilders, a polarizing Dutch politician, and anti-Islam campaigner, was among the speakers at the Sunday's event.

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