For Immediate Release: 7 June, 2011

Anti-Gay Hate Crime Up 21% in Tower Hamlets: UK Gay and Feminist Activists, Writers and Publishers Demand Investigation into Leaders of "Gay-Free Zone" Campaign; Call on East London Mosque to Stop Providing Platform for Anti-Gay Hate

JUST A £100 FINE FOR WAGING A HOMOPHOBIC HATE CAMPAIGN? WHAT HAPPENED TO EQUALITY?
Many gay and lesbian people across the UK and beyond are furious that during a period of rising anti-gay hate crime in Tower Hamlets a man found guilty of distributing and placing homophobic hate stickers around the borough has been fined just £100. (The story has been reported in the local and gay press here: http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2011/06/01/gay-free-zone-homophobic-stickers-musl... and http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/06/01/man-fined-for-east-end-anti-gay-stickers/)

Mohammed Hasnath, of Leamouth, Tower Hamlets, admitted putting up the stickers, which declared a 'Gay Free Zone' and quoted a verse from the Qur'an, on the 25 bus, a bus stop in Whitechapel, Bow Church DLR station, and outside the Royal London Hospital, as well as handing them out to “random Muslim men”, between the 11 and 14 February this year.

The stickers (one sixth-A4 size) have been seen in several streets in Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and Hackney as well. Similar religiously-inspired homophobic hate stickers have also been reported in the Midlands. The campaigns lasted for several months, dating back to September of last year.

This week, some news reports inaccurately reported that the campaign to isolate, intimidate and stoke up hatred against the local gay population in East London was solely the work of one man, the convicted Hasnath.

People are upset that a coordinated, prolonged, multi-city attempt to define parts of the UK as Gay-Free Zones was treated as no more than mildly disorderly conduct. A comment on PinkNews says it all: "He was charged under section 5 of the public order act 1986 – which is often used to prosecute someone who repeatedly swears in the street – that is the level of offence that was used in the case. Shocking watering down of the impact of this on the communities by the justice system – let down by police and CPS..." 

There is a strong feeling that homophobia is being covered up, or ignored, in order not to ‘endanger community relations’. The paltry fine issued by the court lends weight to this fear. It sends a message that bullies and thugs can get away with it, and that homophobia is a second-class crime.

The problem lies not with the judge, who was constrained by the charges under which the case was brought, but primarily with the law itself which treats mounting an inter-city, coordinated anti-gay intimidation campaign as nothing more serious than illicit flyposting or spitting in the street. Such a light penalty would be unthinkable if we were considering groups operating across UK to create Jew-free, Black-free, Muslim-free or Christian-free zones.

The absurdity of the sentence points to the need to change the laws so that gays receive the same protections as Muslims, blacks or Jews. For the words human rights to mean anything they can't be applied only to people who belong to certain religious, sexual, racial, class, national or other groups. Human rights are for everyone or they are not at all. 

The "Gay-Free Zone" campaign was deliberately committed to fill gay people with fear in an area where they have already have been subject to vicious assaults and intimidation by gangs and ideologues for years. The arrest and conviction of a low-level patsy on risible charges and the resulting arguments over the case - as well as the misinformation which had previously been knowingly spread by certain "community representatives" about the true identity of the culprits - are a sideshow and a distraction from the urgent business of investigating and stopping those who are behind this campaign of intimidation. 

 

A BACKGROUND OF RISING HOMOPHOBIC HATE IN EAST LONDON 

While it is often claimed that homophobic hate crime is ‘falling’ in Tower Hamlets, the most recent statistics released by the Metropolitan Police Service show that homophobic hate crime is UP in Tower Hamlets by 21% over last annual reporting period, from 67 attacks to 81; during the same period, religious/racial hate crime remained flat. (see: http://www.met.police.uk/crimefigures/datatable.php?borough=ht&period=year). Many gay people have been forced out of the borough, unable to cope with the harassment.

A particularly vicious attack – ignored by national media – occurred in late August 2008, when a 21 year-old art student, Oliver Hemsley, was butchered just after leaving the George & Dragon pub on Hackney Road in Shoreditch. He was set on by a gang of 8 Bengali youths, his wine bottle snatched from him, smashed and the broken glass driven into his torso; they kicked him to a pulp, and finally a stabbed him in the neck, a knife partly cutting his spinal cord to leave him quadriplegic. A 15 year old, Nasrul Islam, was the only gang member to be brought to justice. Incredibly, the police released him on bail – only for him to mug a 12 year-old girl just days later. On his sentencing in March 2009, as an act of revenge, 30 youths attacked the George & Dragon and its customers with baseball bats (see: http://www.timeout.com/london/around-town/article/1058/gay-londoners-see-atta... For months, LGBT people walking along Hackney Road were subject to abuse and assaults, pelted with stones and eggs. 

 

EAST LONDON MOSQUE / LONDON MUSLIM CENTRE - INFILTRATED BY EXTREMISTS, HAS HOSTED A STRING OF HATE PREACHERS

The East London Mosque (ELM), the main mosque in East London, was quick to distance itself from, and to condemn, the "Gay Free Zone" stickers. It has, however, many links with the extremist Islamic Federation Of Europe (IFE), which seeks to impose Shariah law in Europe. The IFE was founded after Jamaat-e-Islam’s members fled Bangladesh during the violent struggle for independence in 1971. Some were wanted for murder and escaped justice by seeking asylum in London. Of 22 IFE trustees, only 5 have not also been trustees of the mosque.

We must stop assuming that the ELM/IFE represent the larger Muslim community. There are 80,000 Muslims in Tower Hamlets. About 4,000 of them, or 5%, attend the ELM. Last June, a host of Tower Hamlets organisations, including the Bangladeshi Welfare Association, the Brick Lane Mosque, the Bangladesh Youth Association and numerous other other local groups signed a joint release condemning the IFE as fascist. (see: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/06/453923.html) In addition to its IFE connections, the ELM has also hosted numerous hate preachers who have promoted the most vicious homophobia imaginable over the years. 

While it is doubtful that many gaybashers are regular mosque attendees, the ELM's preachers have created an atmosphere in which hate is socially acceptable; they have spread a message in which maiming and violence is the most dutiful, honourable, devout thing to do. 

The preacher Uthman Lateef, who even hosted a gala dinner to highlight the Mosque's supposed commitment to combatting homophobia earlier this year, is on record as saying to students at nearby Queen Mary University of London in 2007: "We don’t accept homosexuality… we hate it because Allah hates it”. 

At the adjacent London Muslim Centre, Abdul Karim Hattin incorporated a ‘spot the fag’ contest into his sermon, with images of Elton John and the bloody corpse of a slain 2Pac at the mortuary. 

He is quoted as saying: ‘This image will show you to the reality when you try to live a life you don’t live, and proclaim a life you never had…. So this man who proclaimed the gangster and fag – FAG – lifestyle: he ended up nothing more than a dead body on an autopsy table.” (2007) 

Another preacher, Khalid Yasin, said: “The Koran gives very clear position regarding homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality – these are aberrations, they are immoralities and …if convicted, punishable by death.” 

Abdullah Hakim Quick who has led Friday prayers, also said in a speech at Kings College London: “They said, what is the Islamic position on homosexuality? And I told them. Put my name in the paper! The punishment is death. And I’m not going to change this religion.” 

And Abdul Raheem Green on his blog called for gays to be stoned to death. 

Bilal Philips, another who has led Friday prayers, wrote ‘the punishment could be death… it’s a punishment for deviant behaviour which threatens the family structure of a society. 

Yasir Qahdi, another who has led Friday prayers, advised Muslim gays to marry a woman. 

Despite all this, the East London Mosque claims to have no responsibility over those who speak there. The East London Mosque also claims to be opposed to the "gay-free zone" campaign and homophobia. We demand that the East London Mosque live up to its stated word, take ownership of its platform, and stop allowing its premises to be used to promote gayhate campaigns. 

Signed:

Julie Bindel, Journalist and Feminist Campaigner
David Bridle, Managing Editor of London's gay weekly Boyz Magazine
Paul Burston, Author, Journalist, Editor of Time Out's Gay & Lesbian Section. Named one of the 101 most influential gay people in the UK in the Independent's Pink List in 2010 for fourth year running.
Darren Cooper, Senior Consultant at Out Now Consulting
Alex Hopkins, Journalist, Editor; Publisher, Dissident Musings blog
Colm Howard-Lloyd, Trustee, Pride London
Mandy McCartin, Artist and Resident of East London
Mac McDermott, Publisher, HOMOVISIONTV
Linda Riley, Managing Director, Square Peg Media, Publishers of g3, Out in the City and Pride London Magazines
Paul Shetler, Human Rights Activist, Coordinator of London 2011 Summer of Love Campaign
Gavin Simpson, Founder, discodamaged.com, London's alternative gay clubbing and lifestyle site
Ian Sinclair Romanis, Gay Man and Resident of Hackney
Adrian Tippetts, Human Rights Campaigner and Journalist

-ENDS-

For media enquiries, please email HOMINTERN@empireofno.org or via twitter: @HOMINTERN

Following the delivery of a 1000-signature-strong petition on Tuesday, a meeting took place on Wednesday morning between gay-rights activists and the management of the John Snow Pub in Soho.

This is part of the ongoing reaction to the alleged ejection from the pub of a gay couple for kissing, last month.

On receiving the open letter accompanied by the 1087 signatures of support gathered online, an unidentified member of staff had agreed on Tuesday night to meet again with the activists the next morning.

The meeting took place outside the John Snow between three representatives of the pub and four protestors, one of whom described the occasion as "civil throughout".

The protestors were advised that management is not at liberty to comment on the situation due to an ongoing police investigation into the incident. They were also informed that the pub's CCTV tapes have been handed over to the police.

The results of the investigation are reportedly expected in two weeks. A new meeting has been agreed for that time between the parties.

Paul Shetler, one of the protestors present at the pub, said: "It is encouraging that the pub management has agreed to meet with us. We are very pleased to see that some sort of dialogue has been established and we hope that this can lead to a positive resolution for all”.

“We will however remain vigilant, ready to challenge any sign that the management of the pub is trying to disengage from the situation."

 

A petition gathering over 1000 signatures was delivered today to the Soho pub that found itself at the centre of an international media storm last month.

On the evening of Wednesday 13 April 2011, Jonathan Williams, 26, and James Bull, 23, were asked to leave the John Snow public house for kissing while on their first date. A member of staff allegedly described the couple’s behaviour as "obscene" and evicted them from the establishment.

Despite several attempts by journalists at contacting the management of the John Snow, as well as the Samuel Smith Old Brewery, which owns the pub, neither the pub nor the brewer released any comment, statement or apology.

In an attempt to get the management of the pub to air their side of the story and to create a dialogue, a group of activists who had organised two successful kiss-in events outside the pub decided to write an open letter.

The letter demanded that the John Snow management, and/or the Samuel Smith Old Brewery issue a statement:

"1/ specifying exactly why Mr. Jonathan Williams and Mr. James Bull were asked to leave the John Snow public house on the 13 April 2011.

2/ clearly stating the venue and company's compliance with and commitment to the Equality Act of 2010.

3/ officially apologising to Mr. Jonathan Williams and Mr. James Bull."

Having gathered 1087 signatures of support after it was placed on a petition website, the letter was symbolically delivered at the pub on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

A member of staff who did not identify himself received the petition and agreed to a meeting on Wednesday 18th in the morning.

After the event, Paul Shetler, who organised the first Kiss-in on 15 April, said: "Tonight the management of the John Snow Pub heard voices from London, the UK and around the world emphatically stating that affection, whichever form it takes, is something positive that should be celebrated and not repressed."

"We all want to put this behind us but it was important for us to demand the respect we are owed as human beings. Nothing more, nothing less. The John Snow management must take responsibility for their action and break the silence they have kept so far."

[END]

Note to the editor: 

- Hi-res version available on request. Credit: Nicolas Chinardet.

- Contact: Paul Shetler - http://twitter.com/paulshetler

- The petition can be viewed by clicking on this URL: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/14/open-letter-to-the-john-snow-pub-and-samuel-smith-brewery/

- The people behind the petition are in the process of planning further direction action events over the summer to promote LGBT visibility and fight homophobia in fun and unexpected ways. They invite people to join a Facebook group to be kept informed of what will happen. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Summer-of-Love/213637041999569?sk=info

- The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) is celebrated every May 17 with the aim of creating international events calling for respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people worldwide. This year is the 7th edition.

 

 

 

Open letter to:

Management of the John Snow Public House located at the corner of Broadwick Street and Lexington Street, Soho, London, W1F 9QP 

And Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire LS24 9SB

On the evening of Wednesday 13 April 2011, Jonathan Williams, 26, and James Bull, 23, were asked to leave the John Snow public house for kissing while on their first date. A member of staff allegedly described the couple’s behaviour as obscene and evicted them from the establishment.

The media have reported several accounts of this incident. The general consensus has been that the couple's behaviour was entirely appropriate for a couple enjoying their first romantic evening together.

The strength of feeling that this mistreatment of a gay couple raised in London’s LGBT community was such that in the course of less than 30 hours, a gay kiss-in was organised with several hundred participants at the John Snow on the evening of 15 April 2011. Another kiss-in followed the next week on 21 April 2011. Rather than allow the LGBT protesters into or around the pub, the John Snow closed its doors on both of these evenings.

Despite several attempts at contacting the management of the John Snow, as well as the Samuel Smith Old Brewery, which owns the pub, neither the pub nor the brewer have released any comment, statement or apology to this date.

While we agree that any establishment is entitled to refuse entry, and/or the provision of goods and services to individuals they deem unsuitable or inappropriate, if this refusal is motivated by a person’s sexual orientation (real or perceived) it contravenes the Equality Act of 2010. This legislation came into force in October 2010 to prevent any business discriminating on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender, disability, religion or ethnicity, or against pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. 

Anyone found to be the victim of discrimination on those grounds could be considered liable for compensation from the venue that discriminates against them.

We, the undersigned, therefore ask that the John Snow management, and/or the Samuel Smith Old Brewery issue a statement:

1/ specifying exactly why Mr. Jonathan Williams and Mr. James Bull were asked to leave the John Snow public house on the 13 April 2011.

2/ clearly stating the venue and company’s compliance with and commitment to the Equality Act of 2010.

3/ officially apologising to Mr. Jonathan Williams and Mr. James Bull

Continued silence on this matter by both the John Snow Pub and the Samuel Smith Old Brewery can only be seen by the public as acquiescence to the fact that discrimination had taken place, something that is likely to damage the reputation of the business. Direct actions will continue against this pub until it, or the brewery has started to engage in the meaningful and respectful dialogue that we believe this serious matter warrants.

The undersigned,

Paul Burston

Nicolas Chinardet

Edward Clarke

Darren Cooper

Tommaso Fico

Alex Hopkins

Paul Jeffrey

Robert Schwarz

Paul Shetler

Robert Wheeler

 

the embrace of liberal identity politics and abandonment of universalism by state-funded movement bureaucrats undermines gay people’s struggle for equality

For OutEast, the very consideration of a festival immediately after the sticker campaign “risks antagonising and scapegoating Muslim communities.”

It probably says more about OutEast’s contempt for the Muslim community’s sense of decency. Ever since the gay liberation movement started, the whole point of pride was to confront head on infantile prejudices about homosexuality. Asserting yourself, and saying “we’re here, get used to it” is always going to be confrontational, and for murderous thugs who regard our very existence as obnoxious, any rainbow flag will always be offensive.

It should be remembered where the intimidation has been coming from in recent years. The East London Mosque has been hosting and promoting a string of hate preachers calling for the replacement of the State with a Taliban-style Sharia government, and who have called for the death of gays, Jews and non-Muslims. Despite this, Rainbow Hamlets and others were perfectly happy to make a joint statement to condemn homophobia last month, without even asking for an apology.

EEGP’s decision to ban anti-fascist group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) from the event, also left the far left seething. This is ironic, since UAF stood on platforms with Islamic extremists. At a demonstration in June 2010, its members joined forces with hardliner Anjem Choudary, who called for sharia law executions to deal with adultery. These associations put East End Gay Pride’s EDL links into the shade.

Most disappointing is the LGBT left’s abdication of commitment to universal human values. OutEast seems more concerned that gay liberation and feminist movements are an excuse “to stigmatise migrants and Islam as a monolithic culture or Muslim people as uncivilised, barbaric terrorists or hateful invaders.”

No rational mind is attempting to stigmatise a whole group. But if we are to deal with the issue of homophobia and oppression of women within the Muslim community, the first step is to be honest about the problem. Sweeping it under the carpet will not help.

The gay Muslim group Imaan goes further, and seeks to drive anyone who should seek the abolition of Sharia law out of the LGBT movement, despite the overwhelming evidence that judgments passed on inheritance, child custody, divorce and domestic violence reinforce women’s subjugation.

The questionable alliances and collective denial about the problem of Islamic extremism in the borough cannot continue. Meanwhile Rainbow Hamlets blames the sticker campaign on the EDL.

 

From East End Gay Pride and Homophobia, National Secular Society 

From Alex Hopkins' post Shame of London Gay Rights Groups 

Tatchell’s remarks tell us some things that we already know. Firstly and most importantly: “the police are not our allies or our friends.” In any conflict between the LGBT community and another minority they will invariably back the other minority.

We know that this is the case and we know that this is one of the key reasons that we have gay rights groups: to protect us and speak up on our behalf.

The failure of both Out East and Rainbow Hamlets to do just this suggests that the concerns of the LGBT community are not first and foremost in their minds. In Tatchell’s words: “I find it so odd that some people are so screwed up about their own sexuality and so insecure about their own identity that they have to defer to another minority….it is the logic of the madman.” Indeed.

The really logical question is: do we want groups like this representing us as a community? Do we really want groups who have hidden vital information advocating for us? Do we want groups who have continued to propagate a lie pretending to defend our rights? In deliberately concealing the truth from us Out East and Rainbow Hamlets have unequivocally demonstrated that they do not have the necessary qualities to represent our community. Their actions reek of a lack of courage and integrity.

Terry Stewart and Thierry Schaffauser of Out East and Jack Gilbert and Rebecca Shaw of Rainbow Hamlets all had the opportunity to bring our community together and foster a much needed debate. They failed on both counts. This was their job and they chose to shun it. They chose instead to cover up the facts.

The credibility of these individuals as community leaders has been irrevocably damaged and for this reason we should call for their resignation at once.

As Peter Tatchell said on Friday: “If anybody advocates violence and prejudice it is unacceptable.” Let us go further – if anybody, for whatever reason, fails to address the reality that is staring them in the face and use it for the good of the community they claim to represent, that is also unacceptable. In falling short of their responsibilities these individuals have lost our trust and this makes their positions untenable.

 

 

 

A month ago, homophobic stickers were placed around east London's Shoreditch and Whitechapel areas, declaring a 'gay free zone' complete with quotations from the Koran. (see: http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/volunteers_gathering_in_shoreditch...

Peter Tatchell reveals that the police know that Asian youths put up the homophobic stickers. He says the youth arrested for the stickers told police he had received them from a man in Islamic dress in front of the East London Mosque and that police also claim to have CCTV footage of groups of Asian youths putting the “gay-free zone” stickers up. 

The police revealed this in a meeting with LGBT activists including OutEast, Rainbow Hamlets, and others such as Peter. The police told attendees not to repeat this outside that meeting for fear that revealing this information would harm ‘community relaitons’. Since then OutEast and Rainbow Hamlets have chosen to propagate a lie, that the stickers were a hoax by the far-right nationalist English Defence League.

Peter talked about this at a meeting on Friday, 18 March. The recording of the relevant part of his talk is attached. It is poor quality but the allegations are from 1min 30.