On New Year’s Day, I posted this on this blog and entitled it “Tower Hamlets council starts to get a grip.” I said the council should be congratulated for finally taking the initiative in vetting people before helping to promote them.
The post concerned a Raising the Nation event at the Brady Centre in Whitechapel, which had been organised by the Tayyibun Institute whose headquarters are less than a mile away in New Road (more about them another time).
The Tayyibun had invited Abu Abdissalam to teach women about the kind of child rearing techniques that would deliver “a victorious Ummah”. However, as I noted in January, someone at the council had done their homework on Abdissalam and insisted his name be removed from the list of speakers before the Brady could be booked.
Here’s what I wrote in January:
Believed to be aged in his 30s, he was born in Coventry and raised in London. He gained a degree in Computer Science from City University and then went to study Islamic Studies in Saudi Arabia.
He doesn’t much like the West […] in fact he appears to be brimming with anger.
Full details about him can be seen on the Harry’s Place website here. He makes references to the stoning to death of adulterers, chopping off the hands of thieves and to Ali Al-Timini, the US cleric convicted for plotting terrorism in the wake of 9/11.
And here’s the statement from the council’s communications department from January:
“Mr Abdissalam was on an original list of speakers for this event, but was flagged up in our booking protocols (the Conditions of Hire) as someone of concern. The organisers were therefore asked to remove him from the list of speakers, which they did, and the event went ahead without him today.”
So if the council know him as “someone of concern”, why is its communications department helping to promote his work again? In each of the last two editions of the council’s East End Life paper, the following advert has appeared:
It’s an advert for the Twins of Faith event at the Excel Centre in Newham. As you can see, Abdissalam is one of the speakers.
The publicity on its website here says the event, which will have “fully segregated seating” will be all about “inspiring positive change”.
If the council really is sincere about rooting out extremist thinking and prove that it really is getting a grip, it has to demonstrate that it is aware of these issues across all its departments and not just showboat on the obvious bookings of halls.
This is particularly so of East End Life.We’re told that the editor has “independence” from communications boss Takki Sulaiman but who is overseeing the paper’s advertising team. The problem is that that team, which is run by Chris Payne, is driven entirely by monetary targets. They’re not well-trained: they’d be able to spot Nick Griffin’s name on an advert but not many others.
This is not the first time it has accepted these kinds of adverts is it? A few months ago, East End Life was running adverts for Anjem Choudary’s new evening school in Whitechapel. After those ads were highlighted here, none have since appeared.
Its vetting procedures need to be strengthened. I’d suggest that they have stronger links with a body such as the Quilliam Foundation to advise on whether there are potential problems when requests for such adverts come in.
All this, of course, is very helpful evidence for Eric Pickles, Grant Shapps and Bob Neill, who, as predicted said here last week, will be looking at ways to bring these council newspapers on to a statutory footing.
Trial by Jeory 
Is the communications department at Tower Hamlets completely incompetent?
Can I suggest all the officers working in the department consult the officers’ code of conduct (ie required standard of behaviour) with reference to the fact that actions which bring the Council into disrepute rank as a disciplinary offence.
This is NOT a question of editorial freedom – it’s a question of use of taxpayers money and implementing council policy.
I dare say the Council could secure income from adverts by all sorts of disreputable organisations and individuals – but yet again it seems the Council needs to be reminded (as with the recent monumental cock-up re the Trinity Square Gardens) that the generation of income is NOT at any cost to the reputation of the Council and the area of Tower Hamlets.
Maybe one of the Councillors would like to write to the external auditor and enquire what he thinks about this type of income generation?
For ease of reference here is the relevant paragraph from the Disciplinary Code of Conduct
“The Council expects all employees to exercise care and judgement in the exercise of their duties, endeavouring always to represent the Council’s interests to most benefit and avoid damaging the reputation of the Borough.”
I agree with almost everything you said and was about to leave without comment, until you messed it all up with the ‘should consult Quilliam’, who by the way are funded heavily by the taxpayer, (unlike some other building we discussed about).
Do your homework, our Ed Hussain (one of the founders) who used to be heavily involved with Hizbut Tahrir, did not leave because he suddenly found himself in a group that he thought was extreme, he left because he threw his toys out the pram due to not winning a leadership contest within the group.
He then decided to covert into Sufism and somehow got together with a couple of other numpties who were not happy with HT and got the Government to fund them and offer their so called expertise on extremism.
They know jack shizzle (another street term for s**t), about extremism, no one from the normal Muslim community (normal being moderate or extreme give a crap about what they say).
They write a few reports here and there, get to be on news interviews a couple of times, mainly during times of problems around the world involving terrorism, then go back to their tax payer funded offices.
Have they stopped any attacks?
Do people in the Muslim community actually take their advice?
No, not really when you think about it.
Ask the majority of Muslims in TH, forget the council, they would not want anything to do with Quilliam.
The term ‘sell outs’ is the best to describe them as sell outs, say and do anything for any sort of gain, which they have, a nice office, in London.
What’s your solution re East End Life and general council vetting procedures?
Definately not go to the likes of Quilliam and Centri thats for bloody sure!
You overhaul the council officers – which will never happen but thats the only way.
I know for a fact that many of the cllrs and officers and general admin are useless, you know that yourself.
Why do you think many young people in TH have a dream of one day working at Mulberry Place, they hear the jobs in there require little skills and you hardly do any work, het even I want a job in there!
Jobs are sometimes engineered to comply with law, but given to known people, very few are competant, but as you can get away with not doing much work, those comeptant tend not to do any work.
But how would you train officers how to spot these names?
If the person named is actually someone who has extreme views – reading those sections from Harry’s place regarding Abdisalaam, I cannot see anything that the majority of Muslims would disagree with (I can tell you are raging with anger at that, but dont care and will elaborate later)
Its easy for officers to cross-reference attendees with a list of blacklisted people, even on a simple spreadhseet!
Right going back to the man at hand, I cannot find anything I disagree with to be honest, the bit about stoning and chopping off hands, now this happens still I think in Saudi Arabia, so firstly its not the UK or USA, so they can do want they want, like the UK can do want they want, secondly, why dont the UK/US kick up a huge fuss with Saudi and play the Human Rights card and rock the ‘special oil relationship’ boat to change their laws???
The bit about not being allies with the West – again I agree, I live in the UK and live by the laws of the land, I don’t have to work with the UK who support an illegal war and continue to do so.
I don’t have to ally myself with the West when they are killing innocent people, many from the same religion as I am from.
I don’t have to ally myself with a country who are hypocrites by not invading other war torn countries in the African subcontinent, but invading middle-eastern Muslim countries due to oil.
If only Africa had oil then the West would do something to help those poor people in the name of….. wait for it….. ‘freedom and democracy’
Again its true what he says about our police, bodge job in Forest Gate and don’t like to take full; liability, why should I help them.
But that does not make me someone who hates the West, just do not like their foreign policy and how its treats us Muslims and the level of double standards they can impose.
I have based the above only on what I read through your link – if Abdisalaam was openly urging people to kill innocent people, or urging people to strap bombs to themselves, then I don’t agree with that and he should be banned no question, but I cannot disagree with those statements he made.
It’s curious that you see “us Muslims” as a homogenous bloc.
But on this issue of vetting: who would compile the spreadsheet of “blacklisted people”? Who chooses who goes on it and on what criteria (given that you agreed with post, except for the QF bit)?
Because ‘us’ Muslims are the majority Ted, its the very small minority that everyone likes to use to tar us with the same brush.
In order to compile, you would need a good set of criteria and that unfortunately is where no one would be able to agree on as it would upset one group or another.
I think you would go by previous history and experience, if someone who say people like you would think is extreme, might actually not be as you just would not agree with his/her points.
You allow guests to speak and if they go into tangents that would be deemed as inciting violence, then the talk is put a stop to and the speaker then blacklisted.
Who would monitor those speeches, council officers could as there are not that many that take place and they can earn there money.
That’s just one idea, but as I said, criteria will never be agreed upon as people have their own ideas of what is deemed extreme.
Sheraz
When you say:
“If the person named is actually someone who has extreme views – reading those sections from Harry’s place regarding Abdisalaam, I cannot see anything that the majority of Muslims would disagree with (I can tell you are raging with anger at that, but dont care and will elaborate later)”
that is pretty shocking.
So is this:
“Right going back to the man at hand, I cannot find anything I disagree with to be honest, the bit about stoning and chopping off hands, now this happens still I think in Saudi Arabia, so firstly its not the UK or USA, so they can do want they want, like the UK can do want they want…”
What you’ve said is basically the reason that Muslims get such a bad press. You’re suggesting that it should be normal for Muslims to hold extremist views, and that they shouldn’t be challenged, or hate preachers banned from public venues.
If we don’t oppose rabble rousers like Abdisalaam, how can we consistently oppose groups like the EDL?
Essentially, isn’t this about living in a free and tolerant society.
Public meetings with hate preachers cause anger: for the simple reason that it worries people that there are rabble rousers doing the rounds and whipping up hatred against gays, or praising terrorist groups.
It is exactly the same reason that people are angry at the EDL marching through their neighbourhoods, causing fear, and expressing their loathing of Muslims.
The same sort of people in England stand up against both sorts of hate mongering.
Yes, it seems LBTH council officers in EEL’s advertising dept are infected with the same malaise: “income generation” at whatever cost. Of course the officers involved in ‘Trinity-Square-Gardens-for-hire’ being the poster boys for this public asset exploitation ‘strategy’.
Can’t see why the list of banned speakers at events (in TH) belonging to the Arts and Events Team cannot be copied to the advertising team at EEL. This list exists – hence the Collingwood Hall and Brady Centre cancellations. Why else does their Parks Hire Application Form ask for speakers’ details?:
“Events of a religious or political nature will need to include publicity materials, event programme and details of speakers before an application can be accepted.”
This list of speakers could be pinned up next to the water cooler in EEL’s advertising office. There’s no need for Quilliam to take on this ‘screening’ of advertisers in EEL – for a start they would expect to be paid as we are already paying these council officers! What a lucrative contract for Quilliam and we would have to pay yet more money for another layer of unaccountability from an outside ‘consultancy’.
Also, got to agree with Sheraz about Quilliam. Quilliam are not looking good with this connection between Ghaffar Hussain and Charlie Flowers – and the ‘Anti-Extremism Alliance’ with Harry Burns and Leighton Evans. You recall your post on the East London Advertiser in August, Ted, and this comment on the ELA (this time, not EEL!) giving publicity to this lot, who should also be on that banned list:
Richard Bartholomew has updated this story only recently:
http://barthsnotes.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/quilliam-foundation-lies-and-abuse/
Seems name checking is a problem with EEL and ELA. That aside, can we please stop pushing Quilliam as ‘advisors’ to the council and just get the officers doing what they are supposed/paid to do: i.e. get the Arts and Events Team to press the send button on the list of unacceptable speakers to the EEL Advertising Team?
Worried
You should be like your namesake and be worried!
From the link that Ted gave, I read everything Abdisalaam is supposed to have said, from that and that ONLY, I cannot see anything extreme, but to you it is.
This is my point as know one can agree on a scale.
I gave my explanations to most of what the link showed as he said and I will not repeat it.
What is extreme about not allying with the West????
What is extreme about not allying with the Police????
Did he say in those statements to go out and kill Westeners????
Did he say to go out and strap bombs to oneself????
He may have done in other speeches, or may have not, but as I said, if he did say those things then fair do’s, he should be banned.
Now when you re-posted what I wrote, you done a typical right wing press move, you didn’t re-post the ending which proves my pint about the hypocrisy of the West and double standards – which was as the UK/USA like to put their oar into everything, why don’t they with Saudi Arabia to ban their capital punishment laws, or is it because they provide them with s**t-loads of oil, which is why they will let them get on with whatever???
And again – if you read properly I agree that anyone should be banned if they hold extremist views, but clearly, you cannot understand what you read and I feel very angry that I am having to waste my life on you, being worried, worried only because you cannot process information and now you have me going off in a rant!!!
For you to say that its because of me Muslims get a bad name, I reckon its because of you (if you are a Muslim) that you would like to water down Islam to fit in, if that’s the case, then please yourself, I don’t have to.
If you agree with the Wests blatant double standards and hypocrisy and illegal wars, then I understand where you are coming from, you want to fit in. If you are not Muslim then you have no right to make that statement that I give Muslims a bad name.
Just like right wingers peddle to get rid of being PC and not be scared to call a spade a spade, I’m with them, I call my religion the way it is and I aint watering down for anyone!
I love this country and I was born here, I pay my taxes my children go to school here and they are taught to live peacefully with everyone, I teach them that Islam is very important in their life and that Islam is for everyone, they will grow up knowing killing innocent people is WRONG!!! (I just have to get that in as I suspect many dim readers may have read all the above and think I am about to plan destroying the UK)
But I will also teach them the downright hypocrisy and killing of innocent Muslims all around the world due to Western governments wanting oil, I will teach them the West want Muslims to spy on each other which is actually stated in the Quran as wrong, I will teach them that you do not have to agree with the UK’s foreign policy and teach them to research and find out how the media works and how it can target Muslims.
So come on you dim phool (just thought fool with a ‘ph’ sounds more friendly) – what was soooo extreme about that???????????
You know what, don’t bother, I’m worried, that you are now worried that you will have to read this over 10 times to make sure you fully understand what I have just said without taking it as I’m terrorist and then you will feel obliged to report me to the Police, hopefully to the same cops that messed up the raid in Forest Gate who will make another cock up and have to pay me compo!!!
Sheraz
See my response above
The bottom line is this. You’re basically the Muslim version of the EDL. Pretty much everybody in this country can see that. Most Muslims do too.
Luckily, you live in a country which opposes both people like you and the EDL.
You’re a bit complementary to Ted to say the whole world reads his blog to know it.
Your bottom line is you live in a world where you think everything is hunky dory, EDL want Muslims out, want to stem the religion.
So how am I the same?
I’m worried that you maybe worried, that I’m worried that I really care about what you’re worried about.
So worried…. I suggest you go back to your hole, do a bit of growing up and realise and think about what you write.
You don’t like what Islam is about as it don’t suit you, I’m not worried about it, the world as you claim probably ain’t worried about it, so stop worrying about and start worrying about your very low level of IQ
[…] 12: The council’s official newspaper, East End Life, promotes an extremist preacher previously banned from speaking on council […]
Sheraz, I agree with you 100%.
Do not give a penny to Quilliam. They are an organisation that thrives in an industry created out of fear mongering and would seize to exist if the blatant muslim baiting by some politicians and the mainstream media seized to exist. They need this perpetuating myth that made the bearded man a scary monster, to continue. Ed and Sheraz are lining their pockets and laughing all the way to the bank just like those geography graduates, who had nothing going for them until the whole climate change debate started and are now laughing all the way to the bank on the back of their climate consultancy fees…
I doubt Quilliam hold an ounce of credibility with your muslim man on the street.
Ted
I hope you are taking note that a couple of other commentators think the same of Quilliam, you have slightly more credibility in TH than Gilligan, who ran to the likes of Quilliam/Centri to support his stance and the locals smelt it a mile off, ousted Muslims with an axe to grind (and take taxpayers money) cosy up to right wing reporters and the government just to make them feel better about themselves.
There was a comment from you about my level of research, I suggest you follow your comments and do the same when branding about certain organisations, especially when thy are raking in taxpayers money, something that is a big ‘bug bear’ of years with Lutfur and everything he spends on money.
There was a article in te Daily Mail that the likes of Ed Hussain are on salaries in excess of £80k a year…. for what???? Now that could be sensationalist reporting on that figure, but I suppose you are accustomed to that with other figures you have reported,not saying they may not be true.
StreetScholar on your original comments, you said ‘Ed and Sheraz are lining their pockets’ – was Sheraz a typo for Majid or is there a Sheraz in the Quilliam camp??
And I have to agree with StreetScholar/Sheraz, just another bunch of crooks.
Ted you should give Sheraz a weekly guest spot he is raw but found many points he talks about as balanced if not just for the comments in brackets as they sometimes are bloody hilarious
Sheraz,
Sorry, I meant Majid, but there is also a Sheraz/Shiraz Maher who is an ex-HT deviant loony, in bed with right wing types and peddling the same nonsense as Ed. He is a very good friend of Ed and has come out of his hole on many occassions to defend the Quilliam Foundation.
He was/is a member of some centre right think tank. Again another idiot who gets more press time than he should.