Month: October 2016

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Demand for Anti-Muslim Bigotry

admin
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Demand for Anti-Muslim Bigotry

By Amjad Khan   The well-known British political commentator Douglas Murray once observed that sections of the political left, known as the regressive left, have a supply and demand problem with bigotry.  He elaborated that there simply aren’t enough racists in the West these days yet the demand for such bigotry is at an all-time high. Without the demand left-wing activists that organise themselves as anti-bigotry activists can’t justify their work and, more importantly, request for donations. Hence, the definition of bigotry needs to be stretched, new sources of bigotry…

An ex-Muslim’s brief recount of working with the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat

admin
An ex-Muslim’s brief recount of working with the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat

By Zee Jay   August 2009. I finally touched down to the country that was regarded as providing opportunities for many. Here I was, ready to embark on exploring uncharted waters and break new mould. It was my desire to meet and interact with people and observe the British way of life. What I wasn’t expecting was to get drawn back into the web of Islam after already having left a strain of it when I left the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This was at the time I was still…

My issues with the Muslim Council of Britain’s alternative to the Prevent strategy

admin
My issues with the Muslim Council of Britain’s alternative to the Prevent strategy

By Iram Ramzan   Critics of the Government’s counter-terrorism Prevent strategy often claim that it disproportionately targets and focuses on Muslims, despite the fact that it actually works on countering the far-right too. So what does the Muslim Council of Britain decide to do? It has decided to set up its own programme to target, er, Muslims. In a direct challenge to the government’s ‘controversial’ Prevent scheme, the MCB plans to start the Muslim-run counter-radicalisation scheme next year. The MCB said in a statement: In reflecting the wishes of a cross-section…

Pakistan: Whither freedoms and whither rights? 

admin
Pakistan: Whither freedoms and whither rights? 

By Saima Baig On October 7, 2016, an article appeared in Pakistan’s Dawn Newspaper, alleging that in a civil military leadership meeting, the Government (prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his brother and other senior officials were present) had told the military representatives that if they did not make more efforts to go after terrorists, Pakistan will be isolated. Journalist Cyril Almeida, one of the newspaper’s senior writers, had reported that an argument had taken place between members of the Pakistani government and the army over lack of action against militant groups,…

We must have a frank discussion on rising sectarianism in the UK

admin
We must have a frank discussion on rising sectarianism in the UK

By Haydar Zaki and Iram Ramzan   Usually when a Muslim person is discriminated against by a non Muslim, it becomes a huge news story. And rightly so, as we must challenge any discriminative actions. But what do we do when Muslims are discriminated against, and persecuted, by fellow Muslims? If the former is ‘Islamophobic’ then what do we call the latter? Nearly a thousand British Muslims recently signed a petition to ban the Shia procession of Ashura in Luton. This procession, to commemorate the death of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein,…

Secularism is not against Islam, it is against exploiting Islam

admin
Secularism is not against Islam, it is against exploiting Islam

By Ghalia Edrees   At a time when the concept of secularism is viewed as a threat in the Middle East and anti-Muslim sentiment is high in the West, I have tried to keep an open mind on the issue of religion. The recent butchery of Muslims by violent Islamists and repressive authorities has, however, forced me to make a choice. I was born in England in 1981 but lived in Saudi Arabia until the age of 25.  In 2014 I moved to London to claim my UK nationality. I…