Birmingham 'convert'

Sunday Mercury, Row after Islam cleric converts schoolboy on Birmingham street, 26 Jun 09 "The incident was filmed during a demonstration by Choudary’s Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah group in Birmingham city centre earlier this month." Plenty of coverage on this elsewhere.

Civitas report

PA/Guardian, 85 sharia courts in UK, says report, 29 Jun 09 "There are as many as 85 sharia courts operating in Britain, according to a new report.

"Academic Denis MacEoin, the report's author, said the existence of the courts practising Islamic law could lead to different legal standards being applied to Muslim and non-Muslim citizens."



Report details: Denis MacEoin, Sharia Law or One Law For All (Civitas, 2009). There is a charge for this think-tank report (haven't read it yet).

iKhutbah

Announcement:

"Radical Middle Way is launching ikhutbah this Friday, 26th @ 12:00 GMT:

"The term khutbah is given to the Friday sermon delivered within mosques before Friday Juma’a prayers. The Khutbah plays a central role in the weekly congregational prayer, providing Muslims with a time for reflection and focus, guidance and spiritual sustenance; as instated by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

"We have captured many of our world-renowned scholars and luminaries to impart their advice, inspiration and guidance in each ikhutbah video. With this unique facility, you can now immerse yourself in these inspirational bite-size talks each week, at the touch of a button.It'll be in a language that you understand and deal with issues that don't really get addressed in many khutbahs these days. Plus, they'll be short (under 10 mins), to the point, inspirational, though provoking and direct.

"Visit radicalmiddleway.co.uk Friday, 26 June at 12:00GMT to watch."

German census

Monsters & Critics, Germany discovers it has more Muslims than suspected, 23 Jun 09

"The survey report, released in Berlin by the Interior Ministry, calculated that about 4 million people in the country were Muslim, well up from the past estimates of 3.1 to 3.4 million based on immigration data. Germany's overall population is around 80 million."

Mosques

Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian, Protect our mosques from the far right, 22 Jun 09 "The arson attack on Greenwich Islamic Centre just after midnight last Tuesday which caused about £10,000 of damage could have been much worse had it not been for the bravery of the mosque's caretaker, Mohammed Koheeli."

Burkha discussion

Saira Khan, Daily Mail, Why I, as a British Muslim woman, want the burkha banned from our streets, 24 Jun 09 opinion piece

Muslims Making Britain Conference

Muslims Making Britain

"A one-day workshop jointly run by the AHRC-funded research projects Making Britain and Framing Muslims

14 July 2009
SOAS, University of London

Speakers include:
Humayun Ansari, Katherine Butler Brown, Aamer Hussein, Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, Salman Sayyid, Sara Wajid, Amina Yaqin"

Shahid Malik

Telegraph, MPs' expenses: inside the Shahid Malik report, 12 Jun 09, "Throughout much of the past month, the investigation into Shahid Malik has grappled with the minister's unorthodox housing arrangements." Discusses the Mawer Report and ongoing considerations relating to Malik.

British Muslim Forum

Dewsbury Reporter, Leading Muslim leads calls for extremists to leave the UK, "The founder of the British Muslim Forum has said hate-filled Islamic extremists should leave the country.

"Senior Muslim scholar Sheiykh Allama Shahid Raza Naeemi OBE was speaking at an event to bring Kirklees communities together."

Also see British Muslim Forum

Girls' school controversy

Daily Mail, Classroom assistant at Muslim girls' school hounded out of her job by parents who did not believe she was a woman, 12 Jun 09 "The hate campaign is believed to have begun when photographs of Ms Patel with short hair and wearing a shirt and trousers were copied from internet site Facebook. These were then circulated by email."

MCB on 'Secret Evidence'

Muslim Council of Britain, MCB Welcomes Law Lords' Ruling Over the Use of Secret Evidence, 10 Jun 09

“The use of secret evidence in obtaining sanction for restriction on one’s liberty offends fundamental norms of civilized justice. However this offensive and immoral practice has been allowed to take root in our much-respected legal system on the basis that the security of the country demanded it. The highest court of our land has now ruled that this practice is unlawful and it must stop. We urge the government to accept without any reservation this powerful and well reasoned judgment of the House of Lords and ensure that the fundamental human right to fair trial is never compromised under any circumstances”, said Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain. "

'British Muslims — thriving against all odds'

Shabana Syed, Arab News, British Muslims — thriving against all odds, 8 Jun 09 "As the debate continues within the British government on how to win the hearts and minds of Muslims and why, according to them, Muslims have problems integrating, the facts on the ground point to a very different reality.

"According to recent estimates Muslim contribution to the British economy is over £31 billion and there are over 10,000 Muslim millionaires in the country.

"As the British media continue to misunderstand and misrepresent Islam, an interesting paradox appears to have emerged: Islam is the fastest growing faith in the United Kingdom and Muslims may now number as many as 2 million."

European Elections

AFP, BNP wins two seats in Europe, 8 Jun 09

"[BNP chair Nick] Griffin told Sky News television: "This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome, because Islam and Christianity, Islam and democracy, Islam and women's rights do not mix.""

'Imam bridges a wedding divide'

Oxford Times, Imam bridges a wedding divide, 6 Jun 09 "Dr Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford, said he had performed about 36 marriages in the past two years between Muslim women and non-Muslim men."

Muslim Groups criticise helpline

BBC News, Muslim Groups criticise helpline, 2 Jun 09

Tories set to create boom in Islamic schools

Yorkshire Post, Tories set to create boom in Islamic schools, 1 Jun 09 "The Conservatives want to make it easier for parents, charities and trusts to set up their own new schools to meet the needs of local communities."