Massacre in Meiktila: That was my friend
Following recent attacks in central Myanmar against Muslims, the displaced have been fleeing to the central city of Mandalay. Buildings were burnt down and the ‘official’ death toll stood at 32, as angry mobs roamed the streets. The reality of events is very different from what we have heard on our TV screens. Burmese state […]
The Conflict in Mali Has Nothing to Do With Fighting Terrorists
Another Western nation and former colonial power, has engaged in yet another conflict with an African country, bombing from the air and attacking from the ground. We are told that France is fighting in Mali to push back ‘Islamist’ rebels (not too comfortable with the word ‘Islamist’, I’ve never heard of a Christianist) who are extremists,
During Times of Austerity Art is Just Middle-Class Decadence
A row has been ensuing since October after the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, announced that the Council would sell a Henry Moore sculpture, the Draped Seated Woman also known as Old Flo. The proposed sale of the sculpture is due to massive government cuts to the council’s budget. The sculpture has not been […]
Extradition; A Sad Day for Us All
The decision to extradite Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad is only one in a long line of subservient decisions that the UK judiciary has taken to please the US. These two men have languished in prison, without charge, without an end in sight, for six and eight years, respectively. Their families going through a difficult […]
Why I Choose Not To Wear a Poppy
It is that time of the year again when it seems like everyone is wearing a poppy; on the tube, on the bus, in the park. You cannot get away from them. Yet, like every year, I refuse to wear one. It is not because I am opposed to remembering those who died in WWI. […]
Modern Warfare Map Removed After Muslims Complain
Over the last few days I have been receiving messages about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Apparently the game shows a hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammed) on the picture frame in the bathroom. This features in the multiplayer maps, Favela. The Arabic script said “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty”. Muslims […]
Extradition: A failure for us all
The decision to extradite Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad is only one in a long line of subservient decisions that the UK judiciary has taken to please the US. These two men have languished in prison, without charge, without an end in sight, for 6 and 8 years respectively. Their families going through a difficult […]
Islamic film protests: a fundamental rift between the Muslim world and the West
A debate I was involved in on the Voice of Russia. This studio discussion is on the protests that have spread across the Muslim world over a US made video insulting the prophet Muhammad. Those protests have now been going on for 10 days. The first began in Cairo, then the unrest spread to Libya. […]
Understanding Muslim Anger
Demonstrations have spread around the world after an anti-Islam video, made by someone named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, insulting the most revered figure of the Muslim world, the Prophet Muhammed was posted on youtube. Why is it that this short video, apparently the work of one insignificant individual, can instigate such outrage? While the filmmaker and […]
Citizen Khan: The BBC should not dismiss Muslim complaints
I am not going to comment directly on the Citizen Khan program. I do not particularly care for so-called ethnic comedy shows that regurgitate out-of-date jokes and reinforce racist stereotypes. They are only sanctioned by the BBC because they lack real diversity in the organisation and are forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel […]