Friday 4 April 2014

St Matthew's school in Blackburn

Chris Evans, Independent, St Matthew's school in Blackburn shows that a multi-faith approach can pay dividends " ... 97 per cent of the 265 pupils schooled in the 1980s-style building that is perched on a hill overlooking the Lancastrian city are from Muslim families. The head teacher, Julian Rogers, believes that the word of God should be spoken and Christian values and morals upheld at the school no matter what background the children are from. Indeed, during assemblies, his biblical stories hold his audience – of excited, intrigued and sometimes confused-looking pupils – captive."

Roya Nobakht case

Independent, British woman Roya Nobakht could be executed in Iran after insulting Islam on Facebook "A British woman has been locked up in Iran for five months after posting derogatory comments about the country's government on Facebook and fears she will be executed, her husband has said."

"The British Muslim is truly one among us – and proud to be so" - opinion piece

Fraser Nelson, Telegraph, The British Muslim is truly one among us – and proud to be so "The integration of Muslims can now be seen as one of the great success stories of modern Britain. While the Dutch and the French have huge troubles with integration, and are caught in agonised struggles about their national identities, Britain is marked out by the trouble that we are not having. Dig a little deeper, and the real story is the striking amount of harmony."

Park View Academy

Daily Mail, Children at secondary school 'infiltrated by Muslim extremists' listened to assembly praising Al-Qaeda leader, say teachers "Two members of staff at Park View Academy claimed a senior colleague had endorsed the teachings of the now dead American-born leader of Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, and that a viewpoint politically sympathetic to the terrorist group had been promoted in an assembly." Allegations and denials.

Sharia law-compliant student loans

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, New loans to help Muslim students go to university "A new model for Sharia law-compliant student loans has been unveiled today (3 April 2014) by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts."

Law Society

Matt Rowland Hill, Independent, Why is the Law Society throwing its weight behind a regressive form of Islam? opinion "The nature of British Islam in not fixed: both moderates like Dr Hasan and reactionaries with their flyblown dogma hope to inherit a greater share of its future. The case continues and continues. Meanwhile is it too much to ask of the Law Society to refrain from taking sides?"

Syria war: British Muslims on the front line

Darshna Soni, Channel 4 News, Syria war: British Muslims on the front line "Channel 4 News speaks to a couple from Essex who say they have left their old lives behind to become charity workers on the front line in Syria's civil war." This was an outstanding report.

Wednesday 2 April 2014

BBC News - Cleric Omar Bakri 'on the run' in Lebanon

BBC News - Cleric Omar Bakri 'on the run' in Lebanon "The Sunni Muslim cleric is among 200 individuals wanted in connection with their alleged role in clashes that have left 30 people dead in recent weeks."

British MP warns a UK ban on Brotherhood ‘could aid al-Qaeda’

British MP warns a UK ban on Brotherhood ‘could aid al-Qaeda’ - Al Arabiya News

Number of Muslims in prison doubles in decade to 12,000

Number of Muslims in prison doubles in decade to 12,000 - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

Britain orders probe into Muslim Brotherhood

Britain orders probe into Muslim Brotherhood - Al Arabiya News: "A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister has commissioned an internal government review into the philosophy and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and the government's policy towards the organization."

Social media is new weapon in war on British jihadis

Social media is new weapon in war on British jihadis - UK Politics - UK - The Independent "Diplomats have quietly opened a new front in efforts to stem the flow of Britons travelling to fight in Syria by spending nearly £200,000 on "social media activity" to deter would-be jihadis from leaving the UK, The Independent on Sunday can reveal."

Tuesday 1 April 2014

Muslim community engagement in Bristol

Building the Bridge: Muslim community engagement in Bristol | Public Spirit "Commentators have argued that the city of Bristol managed to turn the implementation of Prevent into a genuine collaboration between public authorities and Bristol’s Muslim communities. The collaboration created a novel multi-agency consultative body that significantly improved Bristol City Council’s engagement with minority communities. Here, Aleksandra Lewicki, Therese O’Toole, Tariq Modood give an overview of their research into ‘Building the Bridge’, outlining their key findings and recommendations."