From Pakistan to Scotland: The many homes of my mother

Dur e Aziz Amna, Al Jazeera, From Pakistan to Scotland: The many homes of my mother

"Sometimes, this bifurcation, between those who self-mythologise and those who do not, seems gendered. Women’s lives do not lend well to mythology, because much of what we do is aggressively quotidian. Sewing the dangling button on a school uniform. Correcting homework. The vigil over the crib. It is all maintenance, and maintenance is not the stuff of myths."

Shamima Begum

'They'

BBC Radio 4, Sarfraz Manzoor, 'They'

Sarfraz Manzoor's 'They' was a Book of the Week on Radio 4. It's a worthwhile listen. There are some references to the influence of social media too (on episode 3), but I recommend the whole series.

Reunion

Sky News, Afghanistan: Woman 'forever indebted' to stranger who helped her mum flee Kabul after emotional reunion in UK

"Fereba Hafizi's mother was in Afghanistan for a funeral and feared she wouldn't get home after the Taliban's takeover. With the help of a good Samaritan, she finally returned to the UK via a flight from Dubai and has now reunited with her daughter following 10 days of hotel quarantine."

Attitudes towards the Taliban

Responses and opinion about the Taliban's re-emergence below (check out the Virtually Islamic blog for more on this)

Rakib Ehsan, Spiked, No, British Muslims do not support the Taliban

"There is no truth to [Khola] Hasan’s claim that British Muslims are united in welcoming the Taliban takeover. Admittedly, there has not yet been a poll on Muslims’ attitudes towards Afghanistan. But existing polling suggests that she is wrong."

Paigham Mustafa, The National (Scotland), Why are many UK imams silent over the Taliban's takeover? [opinion piece]

"The teaching of these imams is often unsuitable for a multi-cultural society. Their understanding of Islam, as laid down in the Quran, is being supplemented by a false tribalism that accepts things that are barbaric. This kind of teaching is being fed to unsuspecting minds. Having a group like the Taliban in power just underpins the legitimacy of this kind of thinking, even though much of it conflicts with the Quran."

Paigham Mustafa is a director of the 'Oxford Institute for British Islam'

Afghanistan in Crisis

Extensive coverage on the Afghanistan situation is on the Virtually Islamic blog, including general articles and social media posts.

Refugees in Wales

Two clips from the BBC with young refugees giving advice about Wales.

'Maybe when you come you're going to feel a bit different, but you're going to get friends'
A family of Syrian refugees offer advice to children fleeing Afghanistan on what they can expect if they settle in Wales pic.twitter.com/S0lYs4uAD1

— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) August 20, 2021

#Afghanistan #Syria #Wales https://t.co/pmkmnaTJtK

— Gary Bunt (@garybunt) August 21, 2021