Monday 31 October 2011

Butetown, Cardiff in WW2

I found these links recently regarding Islam, Muslims and Wales. The ww2talk.com link features some good historical photos of Cardiff's Muslim community:

ww2talk.com, The Germans bombed our Mosque-Butetown, Cardiff

Green Booked, Islam and Wales, 12 Oct 2010

Andrew Papworth's Blog, The importance of religion in Butetown, 17 Mar 2010 (contains a 1950s photo of Butetown Mosque)

Thursday 20 October 2011

"Why Muslim women in the Middle East are doing Better than their Peers in UK?" op-ed

Iqbal Tamimi, Director for Arab Women Media Watch Centre in UK, Middle East Online, Why Muslim women in the Middle East are doing Better than their Peers in UK?, 17 Oct 2011

"Alriyadh, the national Saudi newspaper published an interesting story on December, 18, 2008, about an unusual marriage condition requested by a Saudi woman at the court of the city of Qatif, where she demanded that her future husband should provide her with 3 personal computers as part of her Dowry, and that he should guarantee her a lifetime access to internet. The groom refused her request, claiming that “internet has bad influence on women and facilitates 'virtual' mixing between men and women”. This incident indicates how important the internet has become in the life of Muslim women especially those who are isolated for social or health reasons. But this incident also shows that internet flirting is a major concern for Saudi men who are living in a segregated society, even though they make the highest percentage of subscribers on dating websites in the Arab region."

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Cardiff teenagers arrested

Wales Online, Cardiff teenagers held by Kenyan anti-terror unit due to be deported, 19 Oct 2011 "The father of one of two Cardiff teenagers arrested by anti-terror police in Kenya has said his son was “brainwashed” into believing he was “fighting in a holy war”." Also see BBC News, Two arrested Cardiff men, 18, 'deported by Kenya', 19 Oct 2011 "A joint statement from the Muslim community in Cardiff said the Somali and Pakistani community in particular, and the Muslim community in general, are anxiously waiting for the arrival of the pair." Internet recruitment link with this story.

Muslims and Political Participation: Conference 2012

University of Edinburgh, Muslims and Political Participation: Conference 2012, 20th and 21st April 2012 call for papers "This conference focuses on the involvement of Muslims in all aspects of political life in Britain with a particular emphasis on contemporary developments.

"Muslims have played prominent roles at all levels of British politics and have been represented in various elected positions since Bashir Maan became a member for Glasgow City Council in 1970. Subsequent milestones have included Muslims first holding posts such as that of Lord Mayor in 1985, MP in 1997, life peer in 1998, Minister in 2007 and the first female Muslim MPs were elected in 2010. For many years the Labour party dominated politics in British Muslim communities and this relationship is still strong. Yet all the major parties now actively seek to court a Muslim electorate as evidenced by the establishment of groups such as the Conservative Muslim Forum.

"Despite the impact that Muslims have had on election campaigns and their roles in various political institutions, research on this topic remains scant. Indeed, much of the existing work was couched within the broader areas of the participation of ethnic minorities or the impact of race on electoral politics. The conference hopes to address this lacuna and thereby highlight current research that deals with Muslims and political participation in Britain, whether at local, regional or national levels. It seeks to pay particular attention to how this participation has changed over recent years and identify new trends for the future, although historical reflections are also welcome.

"In addition to electoral politics and representation, the conference also seeks the submission of papers on other aspects of civil society such as social movements, trade unions and NGOs as well as papers which give insights into developments in other European countries. Cross-country comparisons which include Britain would be especially welcome."

Full details via the above link.

File on Four, 'Madrassas'

This programme is available on iPlayer and as a podcast.

BBC Radio 4, File on Four, Madrassas, 18 Oct 2011 "Earlier this year, an imam working in Stoke-on-Trent was jailed for raping a 12 year old boy at his mosque. In the wake of the case, File on 4 investigates whether the thousands of children who visit mosques and madrassas each week to study the Quran are being properly protected." 

Also see:

Fran Abrams, BBC News, Child abuse claims at UK madrassas 'tip of iceberg', 18 Oct 2011 "Britain's madrassas have faced more than 400 allegations of physical abuse in the past three years, a BBC investigation has discovered. "But only a tiny number have led to successful prosecutions."

Monday 10 October 2011

Hip Hop

muslimvoices.org, Hip Hop Link between Culture and Faith for Filmmaker "San Francisco filmmaker Mustafa Davis wanted to see how music became a link between Muslim identity and Western culture."

Hope this one gets shown in the UK - it sources UK and US artists.

'Creationism Attack Under UK Muslim Fire'

OnIslam, Creationism Attack Under UK Muslim Fire , 9 Oct 2011

"Muslim groups in Britain have sharply criticized an atheist professor who attacked Muslim faith schools for teaching creationsim for their students."