Monday 30 November 2009

Call for a 'greener' Hajj

BBC News, Expert calls for a 'greener' Hajj, 29 Nov 09 "An Islamic expert is calling on Muslims to reduce the environmental impact of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

"Dr Mawil Izzidien of the University of Wales, Lampeter, says the event is beset by wasted and misused resources."

See the related book Mawil Izzidien, The Environmental Dimensions of Islam

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Arrests

Daily Mail, Four Britons linked to 'violent jihad' plot are charged with terror offences, 23 Nov 09 "Four Britons have been charged with terror offences following raids last week."

Abu Usamah

Tim Marshall, Blog, Sky News, Islam, UCL And Killing Gays - 'In Context', 24 Nov 09 " ... the Islamic Society of University College London (UCL) has, in its beatific and infinite wisdom, invited the socially divisive Usamah to speak on Monday evening." Op-ed blog piece.

European issues

Gavin Hewitt, BBC News, Europe's identity crisis, 25 Nov 09 "In Europe the views of the ethnic minorities differ hugely. A poll in France found that only 4% of Muslims there want to live exclusively among other Muslims. In Britain some migrants from Pakistan and Kashmir are more cautious about living alongside other communities in the giant melting pot that is Britain today."

Monday 23 November 2009

Prisons and 'fatwas'

David Leppard, Times Online, Terrorists smuggle fatwas out of secure prisons, 15 Nov 09 "Some of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits."

The report is published by the Quilliam Foundation

‘Framing Muslims: Perspectives from Britain and North America’

I've just been sent this, which sounds interesting (alas, I cannot attend):

‘Framing Muslims: Perspectives from Britain and North America’

Date: Saturday 5 December 2009

Time: 09:00 - 5:00pm

Venue: MAL 416, 4th Floor,

Birkbeck, University of London,

Malet Street, Bloomsbury,

London WC1E 7HX

Speakers & Talk Title:

• Hishaam Aidi, ‘Moors, Aztecs and Ideologies of Al-Andalus’

• Nabil Matar, ‘Muslims in Early Modern Period’

• Haideh Moghissi, ‘Muslims in Canada: Promises and pitfalls of multiculturalism’

• Kamran Pasha, ‘Islam and Hollywood -- A Muslim Filmmaker's Journey’

• Sherene H. Razack, ‘ “A Culturally Different Enemy” and Other Everyday Expressions of White Supremacy: Reflections on Torture and Muslims’

• Steven Salaita, ‘Barack Obama, Islam, and the Discourses of American Racial Belonging”

• Mona Siddiqui, ‘Islamic law in Britain- past, present and future’

• Tim Jon Semmerling ‘Extraordinary “Renditions”: When Law and Pop Culture Co-Narrate the Bush Administration’s Use of Extraordinary Rendition

• Pnina Werbner, ‘Multiple and Intersecting Identities among British Pakistanis: Negative and Positive Scholarly Frames’

Themes include:

• Historical perspectives

• Production and Reception of images

• Representation and Power

• Race, ethnicity and gender

Organised by :

Centres & Programmes, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Framing Muslims

Framing Muslims: Representation in Culture and Society Post 9/11


Contact the organisers via the above link for registration info, etc.

Thursday 19 November 2009

New study on prejudices and enmity

euro-islam, Study reveals prejudices against Islam all over Europe, 18 Nov 09 "The Bielefeld Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence has conducted a Europe-wide study on prejudices and enmity against various social groups. The representative study saw 8000 participants (1000 people respectively in the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Hungary)."

Check out the Press Release here from Bielefeld Institute ppdf]

Monday 9 November 2009

Scotland

Daily Record, Exclusive: Fears grow over possible clash at Scotland's biggest mosque, 8 Nov 09 "Religious leaders fear militant Muslims will travel to Scotland to confront far-right racists planning an illegal march on the country's biggest mosque.

"They have warned that Islamic hardliners will be out in force to take on the neo-Nazi thugs planning to march in Glasgow under the banner of the Scottish Defence League."

'Forgotten Heroes'

Emel Magazine, Forgotten Heroes, Issue 62 November 2009 "With Remembrance Day around the corner, Somaiya Khan-Piachaud and Ayman Khwaja remember the sacrifice of Muslim Soldiers, who gave their lives and their limbs in the name of duty in both the First and Second World Wars."

The page includes an interesting movie clip on this subject.

Also see the Muslim Council of Britain's press release for their new publication: MCB Report Demonstrates long-standing British Muslim Support for Armed Forces, 6 Nov 09 and a statement on particpation in Armistice Day commemoration: MCB Joins With Other Faith Groups at the Cenotaph

Here's a direct link: Remembering the Brave: The Muslim contribution to Britain’s Armed Forces [pdf] This includes an article by Prof. Humayun Ansari.

Thursday 5 November 2009

Police

timesonline.co.uk, PC cleared of race attack was involved in assault on Muslim, 4 Nov 09 "A police officer cleared yesterday of racially assaulting two teenagers had previously been involved in a “serious, gratuitous and prolonged” attack on a Muslim that led to a £60,000 compensation payout by his force."

Wales

Islam in Europe, Wales: Muslim men plan to sue airport, 4 Nov 09 "A PARTY of Muslim men who claim they were singled out and treated like terrorists by airport police vowed last night to push for an independent investigation."

Monday 2 November 2009

'Prevent Violent Extremism'

Catrin Nye, BBC Asian Network, Young Muslims step in police's shoes, 2 Nov 09 "On the fifth floor of Scotland Yard in central London, live video feeds are coming in with news of a terror threat.

"The 30 people in the room are forced to make decisions that could change lives - which homes do they raid? Who do they stop and search?

"But they are not counter-terror officers, in fact many of them are not even sure they trust the police.

"They are 17 to 25-year-olds from around London, nearly all of them Muslim, and they are acting as if they are officers responding to a terror attack as part of Act Now, an exercise run as part of the government's £140m Prevent programme."

More on Prevent from the Home Office site