Gavin Boby (born 1964 or 1965) is a British anti-mosque lawyer. A self-declared "mosque-buster", Boby advices and campaigns against planning permits of new mosques in the United Kingdom.[1][2]

Anti-mosque activities

As director of the Law and Freedom Foundation, Boby helps "local neighbourhoods to resist planning applications for mosques."[3] As of 2023, he takes credit for the rejection of 58 out of 95 planning applications for UK mosques which he has contested in the preceding ten years.[4] Some councils have however disputed that he has been instrumental in blocking the development of local mosques, instead attributing them to other issues.[2]

In order to legally oppose mosque constructions, he cites issues such as "non-regulation number of parking spaces,"[5] and gives advice centring on arguments such as "parking congestion", "disturbance" and "community relations".[2] In speeches in opposition to mosque constructions, he has however referred to mosques' historical uses as "fortresses" and "places of executions", and added that "terrorists form plots in mosques" where "they cannot be detected".[6] His organisation's logo features a mock-up of the movie Ghostbusters, with the ghost in the logo exchanged for radical former UK-based Muslim cleric Abu Hamza.[2]

He has also provided advice for Australian anti-mosque activists such as the Q Society of Australia and to the Bendigo mosque protesters.[3] He has spoken to activists in Canada,[7] and been interviewed by Erick Stakelbeck on CBN News in the United States.[8]

Other activities

In an initiative called "Never Shall Be Slaves", Boby also offers pro bono legal support for victims of British-Pakistani child exploitation gangs.[9] On his YouTube channel, he has called for "mass repatriations" of immigrants from the UK.[4]

He has been considered a part of the counter-jihad movement.[9][10] He was a speaker at the 2012 counter-jihad conference in Brussels, billed as the "International Conference for Free Speech & Human Rights".[11] He has also spoken at a Pegida rally in Dresden, Germany,[12] and to For Frihed (formerly Pegida Denmark).[13]

References

  1. ↑ Kerbaj, Richard; Henry, Robin (13 January 2013). "'Mosque buster' lawyer gives free advice on how to block worship". The Sunday Times.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Britain now has a far-right 'mosque-buster'". Business Standard. 29 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 Safi, Michael (23 June 2014). "UK 'mosque-buster' advising Bendigo residents opposed to Islamic centre". The Guardian.
  4. 1 2 Bateman, Jessica (24 July 2023). "The fight-back against anti-mosque campaigners". Hyphen.
  5. ↑ Haddow, Joshua (19 April 2012). "Hate the Thought of Muslims Being Near You? Call Mosquebusters". Vice News.
  6. ↑ Weich, Ben (24 October 2017). "Tempers flare at Islamic centre meeting". The Jewish Chronicle.
  7. ↑ "Anti-mosque lawyer speaks in Ottawa despite protests". CBC News. 4 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Stakelbeck, Erick (11 December 2012). "Stakelbeck on Terror Show: Mega-Mosque Madness". CBN News.
  9. 1 2 Jamin, Jérome (2016). L'extrême droite en Europe. Bruylant. ISBN 9782802755548.
  10. ↑ "Key players". Hope not hate. 17 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Brussels 2012 Speaker Bios". International Civil Liberties Alliance. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  12. ↑ Vorländer, Hans; Herold, Maik; Schäller, Steven (2018). PEGIDA and New Right-Wing Populism in Germany. Springer. p. 67. ISBN 9783319674957.
  13. ↑ "Pegida Network: For Frihed". Hope not hate. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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