‘I don’t feel British and I don’t want to be’
Journalist Assed Baig asks Birmingham Muslims about the “climate of fear” fuelled by the rise of Islamic State – and finds they are more alienated than ever.
UK Muslim group threatens government with legal action
Organization with alleged links to Muslim Brotherhood could face restrictions in government crackdown. The Muslim Association of Britain has said it will take the British government to court if it attempts to place any restrictions on the organization over allegations it is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The declaration came on Thursday days after a British newspaper […]
UK Muslims criticize PM’s Charity Commission proposals
Islamic charity and human rights campaigners accuse British government of anti-Muslim bias. Muslim rights groups in the U.K. have responded with anger to new proposals announced by Prime Minister David Cameron to give extra powers to the country’s charities regulatory body. The government announced earlier Wednesday that it was proposing giving the Charity Commission, the regulatory body […]
Scotland: Nos seemingly ahead, but some not happy
Some leaving yesterday’s polls dejected – embarrassed at way ‘Better together’ campaign was conducted. With the “No” vote ahead in polls to predict Scotland’s future, you’d expect their voters to be in celebratory mood, but some are leaving Thursday’s vote dejected – unhappy at the way the Better Together campaign has gone. John McIntyre, voting in the affluent parish […]
Scottish Muslims mostly see future outside UK
‘It’s about improving my community, for my people, for Muslims, and mainstream society,’ says ‘Yes’ voter. On the streets of southern Glasgow, independence posters in Urdu stare from windows, cars – prayer beads hanging from mirrors – beep their horns in support of “Yes,” and kids dribble footballs around women wearing brightly colored salwar kameez dresses. The […]
UK leaders in pledge to Scotland ‘if’ it stays in union
Labour, Conservative and Liberal leaders promise ‘extensive new powers’ to Scottish parliament if countrymen vote ‘No’. With just two days left until Scotland goes to the polls in a highly anticipated independence vote, political leaders scrambling to keep the country in the U.K. have pledged to devolve new powers to the Scottish government if its […]
British convert reveals Syria journey
‘The question is, did ’you‘ ever see a wrong and try to change it,’ says UK man on returning home, having fought Assad. He ignored the warnings, took the risks, and hopped on a plane. Hours later – via Heathrow, Istanbul, and then over land to the border – he arrived in Syria. A Muslim […]
Let’s Not Make Child Grooming about Ethnicity, But We Can Talk About Race If You’d Like
The level of depravity and abuse revealed by the Jay report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal has shocked the entire country. The fact that 1,400 children have been abused has been lost on some as they rush to link the crimes of predatory men to ethnicity. The case that these crimes were carried […]
UK child sexual exploitation report raises racism fears
“There are issues within society, but it [child abuse] is not an Asian or a Muslim problem, it’s a [an all round] problem,” Raza Nadim told AA. Allegations of institutional racism reared their head in the UK this week on the back of an independent report into child sexual exploitation in Northern England that found […]
UK government approach to extremism not working, say experts
‘Domestic and foreign policy must be re-examined rather than new laws being introduced,’ specialist in counter-terrorism tells AA. A leading specialist in counter-terrorism has questioned the British government’s approach to extremism, stating that attempts to further criminalize those taking part is not the answer – that they should be looking at the cause not the […]