UK ‘anti-terror’ law indiscriminate, says rights groups
Only about one percent of 46,000 people were stopped under Schedule 7 powers were arrested, according to UK government statistics LONDON Government figures reveal that only about one percent of people questioned under powers that allow police to stop individuals at ports were detained in 2013. More than 46,000 people were stopped at Britain’s ports under […]
Indian Kashmir: A mother’s fight for missing son
‘My son was picked up by security forces in 1990, I have not seen him since,’ said Parveena Ahanger, the head of ‘the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons’ in Indian-held Kashmir. LONDON It’s been 24 years since she last saw her son. An arduous 24 years during which Parveena has struggled to find out […]
UK counter-terrorism report criticized
Counter-terrorism report by MPs from UK’s main parties criticized for policy recommendations LONDON A counter-terrorism report produced on Friday by MPs from the U.K.’s three main political parties has been criticized for its recommendations on how to deal with U.K. nationals returning from Syria. The proposals are similar to the de-radicalization programme Channel, which tries to “identify […]
Kashmiris want to vote on future, not Indian parliament
Kashmiris mostly chose to boycott India election, but say they will vote in a referendum SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir Showkat Ahmad Bhat, a middle-aged grocery store owner in Indian-held Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, has never cast a vote in the 46 years of his life. On April 30, when polls were held in Srinagar, Bhat sat with his two […]
An ideological war against UK Muslims in schools?
The UK government investigation into Muslim majority schools set off by an anonymous letter. A so-called ‘Islamist’ school plot, government leaks, off-the-record briefings, a media scramble and a government-ordered investigation of 25 schools has gripped the U.K.’s second city Birmingham in the last month.
UK mosque row increases community suspicion of police
Police donations to UK mosque raises suspicion about intentions. LONDON Birmingham is the United Kingdom’s second city and home to a sizeable Muslim community — one that has, at times, had a tense relationship with the city’s police. In recent years, Birmingham has seen some high-profile terrorism cases: a plot to behead a British soldier; a […]
The Muslim Plot That Wasn’t
A secret document purporting to expose an undercover Muslim conspiracy to take over schools in Birmingham hit national news recently, prompting journalists to fall over themselves heralding a sinister ‘Islamic plot’, while eliciting both public statements from the Prime Minister and snap Ofsted inspections for the places of learning allegedly targeted by the conspirators. From […]
Myanmar: Meiktila memories still fresh one year on
Many Muslim victims continue to live in Internally Displaced People camps, still dreaming of returning home. RANGOON, Myanmar It’s been one year since a Buddhist mob rampaged through the central Myanmar town of Meiktila, killing local residents and setting fire to their homes. Today, the violence is over, but many of the Muslim victims continue […]
Myanmar’s Apartheid: Healthcare and memories of violence
The Rohingya of Myanmar are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world according to the United Nations. SITTWE, Myanmar Myanmar’s Rohingya are mainly located in the Western state of Rakhine. There, violence against the minority in 2012 resulted in hundreds of deaths and, according to Human Rights Watch, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity were […]
Myanmar’s Apartheid: Arbitrary arrest & torture
In a series of features, Anadolu Agency correspondent Assed Baig, reveals the extent of oppression inflicted on the Rohingya. SITTWE, Myanmar In 2013, in preparation for Myanmar’s census the government asked the Rohingya Muslims of western Myanmar to sign papers declaring that they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The result would have been the Rohingya identity being wiped from […]