** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** Rights group Muslim Engagement & Development (MEND) have launched a new report The Great Debunk: Challenging Islamophobic Conspiracy Theories, which examines how false narratives about Muslims once limited to the far-right fringes have entered mainstream political,...
Islamophobia Watch alerts us to local reports (see here and here) on yet another English Defence League protest which took place on the weekend, this time in Keighley, West Yorkshire during which five people were arrested. From the Keighley News: “Police and English Defence League supporters...
The Guardian today carries a letter calling for the British citizen, Babar Ahmad to be put on trial in the United Kingdom. Ahmad is fighting extradition to the US where he is wanted on charges related to terrorism for offences which he allegedly committed in the UK. The letter, signed by a number...
The Newham Recorder has reported the good news that pupils at an Islamic school based in East London have raised £500 for London’s oldest children’s hospice, Richard House, which cares for young people with life-limiting, life threatening and complex health conditions. From the local paper:...
Islamophobia Watch draws our attention to reports over the weekend of a meeting of far-right groups, including British groups, in Sweden on Saturday. The meeting, which reportedly attracted fewer than 200 people was meant to signal the launch of the first global ‘counter-jihad initiative’. From...
There has been extensive coverage in the weekend’s papers of the conviction of Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed for the murder of their 17 year old daughter Shafilea. While the horrendous crime warrants the attention, the deliberate refraction of the issue through the lens of Islam is reprehensible....
The Open Society Institute has released a report on Muslims in London with a specific focus on the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The report, building on earlier analysis on Muslims in 11 European cities, looks at issues of identity and belonging, education, health, policing and security and...
The Daily Express last Monday published a column by Douglas Murray on polygamy in the UK and benefits payments to multiple spouses. Murray begins by commenting on polygamy as practiced in the Mormon community in America, stating that “Fortunately, so far as we know, Britain does not currently...
Following the BBC Trust review on the corporation’s coverage of the Arab Spring, the Guardian today reports on the appointment of Stuart Prebble to oversee the review on impartiality. From the Guardian: “Former ITV chief executive and Grumpy Old Men producer Stuart Prebble is to lead an...
Islamophobia Watch alerts us to a report in the Sunderland Echo stating that police were required to guard a council meeting at which the planning application for a ‘controversial’ mosque was being reviewed amid fears of protests and disturbance given the hostile campaign organized against the...
The BBC reports that the Mayor of the French town Gennevilliers has reinstated four Muslim employees after controversy arose from their being fired for observing fasting during the month of Ramadhan. Mayor Bourgoin argued that the Muslim employees’ insistence on fasting amounted to a ‘breach of...
