It’s a good thing that the fire at the Islamic Community Centre in Muswell Hill, North London did not involve any loss of life or harm to those who attend it, or local residents. It seems that the fire started in the early hours of the morning and had destroyed most of the building by the morning. As with many Islamic Community centres, the building is actually a mosque, although it used to be a local youth club and was taken over by the Somalian community in 1999. The latest charity reports note that the building is in poor repair and requires complete modernisation. It is to be hoped that when the Centre is rebuilt after this devastating fire it will be able to include all of the facilities which an active organisation such as the Somali Bravanese Welfare Association would wish to provide.Immediate attention has turned to the English Defence League, since the letters EDL appear to have been painted onto a wall of the building at some point. But it must surely be very unlikely that anyone deliberately setting the property on fire would advertise their identity in such a way. It is much more reasonable to conclude that the graffiti and the fire are unrelated, as we must be sure the police will thoroughly determine in their own investigations.
If the graffiti and the fire are both discovered to relate to last night’s unjustifiable and criminal activity then we must ask ourselves whether it is reasonable to conclude that members or supporters of the EDL could be so foolish as to incriminate themselves. Certainly the EDL have a reputation for being rather rough and ready, but they are quite capable of organising peaceful demonstrations, and Tommy Robinson has pointed out that 26 arson attacks in Luton, in which EDL graffiti was present, were found to have been perpetrated by elements of the local Muslim community to direct police attention towards the EDL. Indeed the EDL website states clearly..
We do not endorse attacks on mosques or any place of worship of any faith or religion. We are totally against such attacks.
There appears to be no evidence that the EDL has been associated with any violent acts against mosques, and it is most unlikely indeed that this latest fire could be traced back to an EDL member. The police arrested someone entirely unassociated with the EDL in Luton, and it may well be found that if this is an hostile act of arson it is also unrelated to the EDL. After all, anyone can spray some letters on a wall.
So if not the EDL then who? Perhaps a lone extremist? We are always being told that all Islamic violence is the work of such deranged individuals. But if that were the case then we would expects some generalised graffiti inviting some British residents to move elsewhere. Why would a crazy loner chose to tag his crime with the initials of the EDL?
What about a hostile organisation that wished to blame the EDL? Certainly this is possible and even likely, considering the serious number of arson attacks which took place in Luton and were tagged with EDL graffiti. Of course it is not likely that the leadership of the UAF would countenance such criminality, and it is very unlikely that any of the celebrity anti-fascists would be involved. But we can easily imagine a lone UAF sympathiser deciding that this would be a great way of hitting the EDL. We know that UAF members and sympathisers are not afraid to be violent in pursuit of their cause. 20 of them were arrested while beating up some poor BNP supporter in London a few days ago.
But there are even more difficult possibilities to consider. A Shia mosque in Belgium was destroyed in a similar arson attack by a Sunni Muslim in 2012. Most deaths of Muslims in the Middle East and Asia are actually perpetrated by members of other Muslim groups. It is a possibility that such inter-community tensions could also have been a cause of last night’s fire. It may even be discovered that the fire was not caused by arson at all, or that the arsonist was motivated by some entirely different set of motivations.
What is most unlikely though is that the EDL, working hard to reject and oppose the use of violence, should resort to it now when they have some possibility of gaining increased support and sympathy. We should be looking elsewhere for the perpetrators, and in such circumstances it is entirely reasonable to ask if sympathisers of the UAF were behind the blaze. Hopefully the police investgation will determine the truth in this instance and make it public.
BBC news mentions the EDL graffitti in what is surely a conscious attempt to smear the EDL. No comment seems to have been sought from the EDL.
It is all a little too convenient to be true.
There at least ten possible scenarios for this incident, maybe more if one wants to get inventive. The police, fire brigade and insurance investigators should be allowed to conduct their investigation without stupid speculation and ‘multi-culti’ propaganda from Villiers, the local MP who just jumped on the ‘extremist’ bandwagon.
http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/10465077.Theresa_Villiers_condemns_Islamic_community_centre_fire/?ref=nt
Utter bollocks at this early stage of the enquiry; let’s keep an open mind. I don’t think the LFB will sing to the Tory tune on this one – far too professional. Wish I could say the same about my own ex-professionals these days, but sadly, I can’t with any confidence.
I shall be extremely surprised if the EDL perpetrated this. Even they are not that stupid, surely? Nobody hurt – usually an indication that it was well planned and not necessarily by an external agent. 🙂 And one of the most frequent triggers is dodgy wiring. Sometimes even more dodgy that it is possible to prove. We’ll see.
But as I said elsewhere, it will be the duty of someone to watch the Mosque planning applications in the Borough of Barnet for some time into the future.
Frank Sutton – no – sounds too BAD to be true. 🙂
Well as I said in my post, at least the community can look forward to a brand new building and facilities which is the only light in this dark episode.
Who owns the gaff – anyone know?
‘only light in this dark episode’ …. very droll Peter. Hev ya got a loight bor?
The Somali Bravanese Welfare Association.
aka the DHSS.
The UAF is reputedly a Socialist Workers Party front.
When the Bomber Command memorial was defaced with red paint and the word “Islam” it seemed that the MSM was queuing up to blame the EDL for a cunning piece of subterfuge. Now I’m wondering if it was that, in fact, the UAF too?
It’s possible.
“So if not the EDL then who? “
The building was in a bad state of repair, an injection of cash was needed, might the Somalian community have taken advantage of the ill feeling since the beheading of the young bandsman to raise the cash from if not the insurance then money raised from the publics sympathy.
As in “sorry to hear about your fire” shush it’s tomorrow.
Frank P, has pointed out above silly comments from the local MP.
Theresa Villiers has said she was “shocked” by the fire in her constituency, which gutted the Somalian Islamic Bravanese Welfare Centre in Coppetts Road in the early hours of this morning.
She said: “This kind of hate crime is absolutely despicable. This is not just an attack on the Muslim community, it is an attack on all of us and our values.
So Theresa Villiers has just confirmed my opinion that she is a brain dead twit, how can she know that a crime has been committed?
If a crime has been committed, why must it be a ‘hate crime’?
Whatever did happen, it is not an attack on all of us, silly, silly woman.
The Charity Commission website gives the annual accounts and report from this organisation which describes the state of the building.
The latest charity reports note that the building is in poor repair and requires complete modernisation.smacks of opertunistic Insurance job if you ask me.
The EDL should be so far down the list of suspects you’d need a microscope to spot them. Certainly in front of them in the queue, apart from those mentioned already are our home grown terrorist facilitators, Em Eye Five.
Insurance is haram. So if it is a scam, obviously, they are not very devout.
As has been noted, no crispies found inside, so sounds well planned. That’ll be the spooks then.
Previously, the arson attacks on this building were carried out by disgruntled local youths.Who knows if a youth/s had a falling out with one of the buildings users?Such a scenario is quite possible,also has been set fire to during a break-in before.
Residents have hated the building, and noise it brings, for decades.I grew up there, used the “rendezvous”youth club as a child.
It’s unusual for a fire to be described as “suspicious” (ie, probable arson) until fire investigators have examined the blaze site. Reports I have seen don’t explain what info the police had at such an early stage to describe it as suspicious – it does look like jumping hastily to conclusions. Have they ruled out the possibility of accidental causes?
It is my experience of the EDL that they really are stupid enough to emblazon their logo on the mosque they are burning down.
Freya June 6th, 2013 – 00:46
“It is my experience of the EDL that they really are stupid enough to emblazon their logo on the mosque they are burning down.”
Can you give two or three examples of this, to justify your remark?
@Peter
Tommy Robinson has pointed out that 26 arson attacks in Luton, in which EDL graffiti was present, were found to have been perpetrated by elements of the local Muslim community to direct police attention towards the EDL.
Could you possibly provide a link to this information, please?
The latest charity reports note that the building is in poor repair and requires complete modernisation.
Again, could anyone provide a link and a source for this claim. One of the first things I did when I heard about this was to look at the charity records, but I’m buggered if I can see where there was any mention of the state of the building.
I think it’s best…and more responsible to establish the facts before baseless memes assume a life of their own.
When the Bomber Command memorial was defaced with red paint and the word “Islam” it seemed that the MSM was queuing up to blame the EDL for a cunning piece of subterfuge. Now I’m wondering if it was that, in fact, the UAF too?
It has apparently been defaced a second time with words to the effect that the Woolwich suspects should be hung…curious. I’m willing to believe that the various incidents a mosques since Woolwich were committed by idiots who have done more harm than good by helping to sustain a narrative of anti-Muslim hatred, but this one seems odd. Plus, you’ll note that incidents only took place in provincial towns – none in London – as, obviously, there are so few autochthons in London and elsewhere now for there to have been any ‘pushback’.
On a separate note, has anyone noticed the new grooming stories – all very hush, hush on the Beeb website but posted nonetheless in with slightly less conspicuous headlines (only the names of suspects/defendants give the game away)? Oxford, somewhere else and Daggers + Barking…
Dear Hatim,
The information about the state of the building burned down the other day is not hard to find. It is in the accounts provided by the organisation running the centre.
You can read the report yourself here…
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends56%5C0001056856_AC_20111231_E_C.PDF
It says clearly that the building is in poor repair and that the organisation is trying to find funds to renovate and bring it up to date.
How many other buildings converted into mosques have been burnt to the ground to be replaced with purpose-built mosques?
Thanks for that link Peter. I had actually read the accounts before, but missed that information.
On those ’26 arson attacks’, I think I’ve found the source via the EDL website:
http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/local/cops-say-edl-not-linked-to-attacks-1-2559458
However, the 2 arrested in connection with these incidents are not named, so it’s impossible to establish whether the individuals were EDL-influenced or not…
The big problem post-Woolwich that I can see is that a lot of this is just displacement activity. The MSM are no closer to examining and rooting out Islamic extremism than it was post-7/7; the EDL appear to be functioning much like the BNP in that both groups’ association with immigration issues and Islamic extremism make it harder for the rest of us to discuss these issues openly and gain influence; Choudary and his goons are made out to have more influence than they actually have which helps to diffuse sensible, rational calls by some to hold an in-depth enquiry into the multivaried sources of radicalisation in this country.
Those arrested in Luton for the arson attacks are described by Robinson as being Muslims. I don’t really have any cause to doubt it, and don’t want to trawl through years of Luton reporting. But if they were well known not to be Muslims then I don’t see that he would have said that they were.
Arrest has been made, media very quiet about it but seems to be a Muslim connected to this mosque.
if an arrest has been made the media are absolutely silent about it… can someone make some inquiries?
The EDL are knuckledragging, racist scum, so are the most likely perpetrators.
As for the 26 arsons referred to by Robinson/Lennon or whatever name he is going under this week, the man is a born liar and just plucked the figure, and the identity of those responsible out of the air. Idiots then repeat it, and it becomes a fact. It is a fabrication, which is why you will find no reference to it except in the repeated lie.
Cranes falling in Mecca, deaths due to stampedes, Mosque catching fire-anyone getting the message?