Posted on 10/02/2006 1:03:08 PM PDT by Republicain
A teenager was stabbed when hundreds of people became involved in a battle on the streets of Preston. Trouble centred on the Jamea Masjid mosque in Clarendon Street, Avenham, for more than four hours last night (Sunday) and led to a massive policing operation.
Preston's police chief said the problems were triggered by local youths throwing stones at cars belonging to people attending the mosque.
This sparked a response from around 200 people inside the mosque who came out to defend those under attack.
It resulted in one 16-year-old Asian youth being stabbed in the arm, but ambulance crews were turned back as the police felt it was too dangerous for them to enter the scene.
Fighting continued into the early hours and led to police requiring back-up from officers as far away as Lancaster and Burnley.
Chief Supt Mike Barton, divisional commander for the area, said more than 100 officers were deployed and he was treating the incident as race-related.
He said: "Some people I spoke to at the mosque insisted it wasn't racial but I think some people at the mosque believe it was.
"Until we actually find the offenders and speak to them, and because some people believe it to be racial, then that's how we'll treat it."
Insp Simon Hayes, force incident manager for Lancashire Police, described the incident as "community tension" with youths on the streets in a "confrontational mood".
He said: "As a result of that, there was a high-level policing operation to reassure the public and disperse these groups.
"There was no major disorder or serious incident."
Ilyas Desail, of the Jamea mosque on Clarendon Street, said: "It is not a mosque issue, it is a community issue.
"It is the month of Ramadan and that is the only reason the mosque has been brought into this.
"We are all upset by this, everyone is upset. No one is going to be happy with the tarnishing of such great efforts we have made in Preston in the past 40 years."
A mother-of-three, 33, from Clarendon Street, said: "It's getting ridiculous and for the past two nights there's been fighting."
You can put up with some morons advertising telly.
Regards, Ivan
Hundreds of Muslims against hundreds of Muslims in England during Ramadan. ...interesting. The vague nature of statements to avoid details to be published to the "Arab world" and to the USA are also interesting.
I was watching that silly show "The Weakest Link" while in London. A question came up about the Marshall Plan (I'm not making this up!) but not one person knew what it was.
Just for the record, I don't think Great Britain benefitted from the Marshall Plan; am I right?
I read somewhere they were showing Oprah and Jerry Springer in the UK. What an embarassment.
Rather like having your neighbors over for dinner and your creepy Uncle shows up drunk and sobbing over his failed marriage.
Ivan, as I've said before, there is no CREDIT on the billboard. There is no way for a tourist to understand that this is some tv promotion - and, sorry, an anti-American one at that!
If I saw something like that about the British on the way to JFK airport, I'd be equally saddened and outraged. But we would never do that.
A little, but only after Roosevelt drained the British treasury in the preceding years.
"Preston's police chief said the problems were triggered by local youths throwing stones at cars belonging to people attending the mosque."
Looks like Preston's police chief is out of touch with local and global current events. Lest he would know that the trouble wasn't triggered by the "local youths."
and I bet they got it all on those fancy police cameras.
"About 60 some odd years ago America made it possible for them to exist and hate us today.
Could we have made a mistake back then?"
I was going to post the fact that we clearly saved ALL of Europe's ass in WW II (The Beatles: " The British army had just won the war".....yeah, right. What was that about the superiority of British education?).
Then I realized that any rich idiot can buy 4 billboards, and a public display does not necessarily reflect Britixh opinion.
Of course, there are those EuroPolls which show broad-based disdain for America.......
They're actually trying to promote American television programmes.
If I saw something like that about the British on the way to JFK airport, I'd be equally saddened and outraged. But we would never do that.
Get off it. For example, I have Family Guy on DVD and I know all the stereotypes that are promoted about the British in America; laughter is a result on your side of the pond.
The difference is, we can laugh about it too.
Regards, Ivan
"If they mean Muslim - why not just say Muslim?"
Asian is an ethnic description, not a synonym for Muslim. I believe Americans may use 'asian' when describing someone of Chinese origin, for example. Why does it bother you so much that, in British usage (for obvious historical reasons) it tends to be used for people of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi descent?
The UK, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands received the most.
But you can consider that you're lucky ! You're not french... Oups ! Sorry... A "cheese-eating surrender monkey", I mean...
Regards
"No one is going to be happy with the tarnishing of such great efforts we have made in Preston in the past 40 years."
Looks like Preston has been giving in to the Muslim demands for 40 years. Cry me a river.
Of course if Royal gets in, and then Hillary gets in, what would they call the summit between the two?
Regards, Ivan
Who might they be?
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