There were several interesting columns and comment pieces published over the weekend on issues of free speech, responsibility, and the various dimensions of hypocrisy which come to the fore in light of the viral Youtube video ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ and the publication of crude cartoons of...
The Asian Image and Northern Echo both report on the decision by the North East Counter Terrorism Unit to drop the case against five men arrested on suspicion of posting racially abusive messages on social networking sites. From the Asian Image: “Five men arrested on suspicion of posting race...
The Guardian today covers the report released by the Pew Research Center, The Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion, which measures the “extent and direction of change in religious restrictions from the year ending in mid-2009 to the year ending in mid-2010.” The report uses two types of...
The Yorkshire Post reports on concerns expressed by local Muslims on the increase in attacks on Muslims in the Yorkshire region as a consequence, among other factors, of depressing socio-economic circumstances. The role of social media sites in organising and galvanising anti-Muslim sentiments is...
It would seem that some see the reactions to the trailer on Youtube, ‘Innocence of Muslims’- a video portraying the Prophet Mohammed as a murderous child molester – as an invitation to prove a point about free speech. Such has happened in the past with the re-publication in...
Islamophobia Watch alerts us to a report in the South Wales Evening Post on charges faced by a man from Swansea, for “send[ing] racially and religiously offensive messages” on the social networking website, Twitter. From the local paper: “A man accused of using Twitter to send racially and...
Jeff Sparrow in Counterpunch comments on the provocation throw up by the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ and the tropes used by modern day Islamophobes and their anti-semitic antecedents. “This is a film produced at a time in which, across Europe and the United States, the far right has...
US magazine, Newsweek, stokes some controversy this week with its cover story and article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali on ‘Muslim Rage,’ dealing with the protests that have been taking place in Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia in reaction to the YouTube video ‘Innocence of Muslims’. Hirsi Ali...
The Observer on Sunday covered results from a poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Extremis project which revealed that of the 1,750 respondents, “37% admitted that they would be more likely to support a political party that promised to reduce the number of Muslims in Britain and the...
The 2012 British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAS) has been published. The survey aims to monitor and interpret British “attitudes towards social, economic, political and moral issues.” This year’s report is the 29th in the series and reveals interesting trends regarding attitudes towards...
