MEND is pleased to announce the release of a new and important briefing paper titled, No Race to the Bottom: Avoiding Further Curbs to Freedom of Speech Under Labour. The briefing argues that our democracy, and particularly freedom of speech, is being put at risk by government actors who...
In recent times, MEND has received numerous reports from concerned citizens regarding the presentation of Muslims in the press amid the COVID-19 crisis. Considering the general media negativity surrounding Muslims, communities are concerned about the potential for unintentional associations between...
In response to the Israeli government’s plans to annex large areas of the occupied West Bank, almost 130 MPs have written to Boris Johnson urging him to impose economic sanctions against Israel if they proceed with the annexation. Plans to forcefully seize areas of West Bank, including the...
While the world comes to a standstill in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Islamophobia industry continues to thrive. Harmful Islamophobic conspiracy theories that Muslims are to blame for the spread of the virus are being propagated. This has led to abusive online posts calling for the...
In response to the Conservative Party publishing the Terms of Reference for its discrimination investigation, MEND would like to reiterate that, although it welcomes the fact that an investigation is finally about to take place, it is disappointed to note that scope of the inquiry is extremely...
Since the start of lockdown, religious communities across the UK have had to adjust to the new reality as they celebrate their religious festivals. The Jewish festival of Passover took place on April 8, which was shortly followed by Good Friday on April 10 and Easter Sunday on April 12 for...
A cross-party group of MPs has written to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, warning that ethnic minorities must not be unfairly targeted by police forces in the exercise of their powers to enforce the Coronavirus lockdown. This warning is not without merit. Some police forces have demonstrated a...
Print media in the UK is the least trusted out of all European countries. In an annual survey of 33 countries (EU states as well as acceding and candidate countries), the UK comes last, a position it has held for 9 of the 10 years the survey has been conducted. Other key findings in the […]
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, the virus has been used as a tool by the far-right to peddle Islamophobic hate by spreading stereotypes fuelled by conspiracy theories, memes, and fake videos, leading to a rise in Islamophobic sentiment online. Since the beginning of the outbreak, abuse directed...
The frequent battle cry of populist and far-right discourse centres around the “dangers” of immigration: the stealing of jobs; the loss of “our” identity; the threat of criminality. In light of this criticism that ethnic minorities are often confronted with, a viral video poem entitled...
A recently leaked internal Labour Party report appears to have revealed a disturbing past of Islamophobia and inaction within the party. The report shows former senior members of the party supporting Islamophobic views and discussing delaying investigations. Meanwhile, it provides evidence of...
