Blood Diamonds and the BBC – Journalist Ishmahil Blagrove talks about his documentary and his experience with the corporation
Is the BBC as impartial, free and fair as they claim. I choose to disagree! Guest post by Ishmahil Blagrove After I initiated an inquiry into the way in which the BBC distorted my documentary “Blood Diamonds (2001)”, deceitfully reneged on a signed contract and jeopardised the lives of several contacts on the ground, the […]
Muslim woman turned away from her son’s parents evening
A Muslim women wearing the niqab has been turned away from her son’s parents evening because of security concerns. Maroon Rafique was told by college staff that she could not come to the parents evening unless she removed her niqab. The 40-year-old from Manchester has visited the college on previous occasions and there never seemed […]
Muslim Youth Helpline Closes and CEO Stands Down Amid Police Leak Row
A helpline for Muslim youngsters has been suspended and its CEO has resigned amid a furious row over the apparent forwarding of confidential information to a police anti-terror unit. Muslim Youth Helpline, which was established in 2004, has been put on ice by bosses after private emails were leaked onto a blog detailing the “disgusting” […]
Muslims Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee?
The Queen’s diamond jubilee has exposed Muslims and Muslim organisations as being complicit in the collective amnesia around the crimes of the British Empire. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) sent out a press release stating that British Muslims are “deeply grateful” for the Queen’s long interest in her Muslim subjects. It must have been […]
Proud and Prejudiced – a critique
‘Proud and Prejudiced’ was a programme that seemed to be about two extremist groups: the English Defence League (EDL) and Al Maharijroun (or whatever name they are currently operating under). From the outset, it is clear that the programme makers are working within the premise that these are two groups of extremists both of which are […]
The New Colony – Balochistan
The people of Balochistan have the right to self-determination and their own sovereignty, according to the United States House of Representatives Committee on foreign affairs. The reasoning behind this article is to question the motives of any Western power to support the Balochi independence cause. Not for a moment am I going to excuse the […]
FOSIS Are a Good Example of Muslims Engaging With Society
Such is the level of racism and Islamophobia in society that when encountered by a politically active Muslim, people automatically seem to put them in the radical or extremist box. The main problem here is that there is a set of double standards at play for categorising people with political opinions. There seems to be […]
Racism, they still don’t get it
Many people have weighed into the debate over Dianne Abbot’s comments on twitter. She has quickly apologised, no doubt due to the pressure she has received from within her own party, the Tories and the media. A wider discussion is required about racism, there are many issues, far more than I can address in this […]
Somalis find limited relief in Mogadishu
The look in her eyes tells me all I need to know about what had happened. Even before I ask her, I know she has lost a child. It is a familiar look, one that I have seen, as a journalist, in the eyes of mothers in Pakistan, Bosnia, Palestine and now in this IDP […]
The end of Al Qaeeda?
The US has announced the leader of Al Qaeeda, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed. What does this mean? On the ground in terms of the US’s fight against terrorism, it means nothing. Al Qaeeda will continue to function as it is. It is not an organisation in the traditional sense of the word. It […]