Bruv, is Dis Topia?

Bruv, is Dis Topia? | alumrockstar  "It becomes more and more difficult to find any goodness in this increasingly god-forsaken place. It is ironic, indeed, that I should describe it as ‘god-forsaken’ because mosques abound, the men sport magnificent beards and the women cloak themselves in veils. Outwardly, God is here; but inwardly he does not occupy our thoughts."

Well-worth reading. I know that this description will be familiar to many (in different locations)

[tip: Yahya Birt]

UK fights Muslim-bashing

UK fights Muslim-bashing - Hindustan Times:  "Muslims aren’t giving up either. “There’s desperate need to help explain Islam,” says Faissal Hameed, the dean of Muslim College in Ealing. “We want to demonstrate that there’s no contradiction between being Muslim and being British.”"

Hijab first in parliament

Hijab first in parliament - Yahoo! News UK:

"A 16-year-old girl is thought to have become the first person to speak from the House of Commons despatch box while wearing a hijab, The Times reported."

The Rt Rev Kenneth Cragg

Telegraph, The Rt Rev Kenneth Cragg, 14 November 2012 "The Rt Rev Kenneth Cragg, who has died aged 99 , was a distinguished scholar who, more than anyone else in the 20th century, helped Christians to a deeper understanding of, and a wider sympathy for, the religious faiths of Muslims and Jews." He was an influential writer (some of the earliest books I read on Islam were by him, such as 'Call of the Minaret'). I once shared a platform with him at a conference.

"One Fat Lady in race row over Muslim ghetto' jibe: The Islamic area of Leicester frightened me, says TV chef "

One Fat Lady in race row over Muslim ghetto' jibe: The Islamic area of Leicester frightened me, says TV chef | Mail Online: "Her comments were criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain and the city's mayor, who claims her account 'may help sell books but it is cheap'"

Malala Yousafzai, Fatwa To Be Issued On Pakistani Schoolgirl Shot By Taliban, Claims Cleric Anjem Choudary

huffingtonpost.co.uk, Malala Yousafzai, Fatwa To Be Issued On Pakistani Schoolgirl Shot By Taliban, Claims Cleric Anjem Choudary

Abu Qatada Wins Appeal Against Extradition

Sky News, Abu Qatada Wins Appeal Against Extradition "The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) upheld the radical cleric's appeal after his lawyers claimed he would not get a fair trial."

British Muslims split along sectarian lines over Arab uprisings

HA Hellyer, The National, British Muslims split along sectarian lines over Arab uprisings "... most Muslim Britons do not have Arab ethnic backgrounds, and most have evolved to become essentially "post-Islamist". Post-Islamism, in this sense, means their initial impetus for engaging in political life was from an emotional attachment to Islamism, but they have a secular rationale in the public arena that is not dissimilar from British social conservatives. But many of them have roots in Islamist community organisations and links, if only symbolic ones, to the Muslim Brotherhood." Opinion and analysis

Organ donation: Jewish, Muslim presumed consent worries

BBC News - Organ donation: Jewish, Muslim presumed consent worries, 5 nov 2012 "Dr Abdalla Yassin Mohamed, director of Cardiff's Islamic Social Services Association and a member of the Muslim Council of Wales, said he had no objection to presumed consent.

"Opposition was based on concern about the definition of brain death in Islam and the issue of consent, he said.

He called for a debate about the bill between medical and Islamic clerical experts."

BBC Radio 4 - Fathers' Daughters

BBC Radio 4 - Fathers' Daughters "The programme speaks to a number of Asian women from different religious and cultural backgrounds about their experiences with their fathers. Some of them have disturbing stories - women who have suffered from violent and abusive fathers, women who were forced into disastrous marriages, women who were cut out of their father's will and not treated equally to sons, women who attempted suicide. Some have cut all ties with their fathers and, as a consequence, the rest of their families. We hear from a girl whose father was liberal until the surrounding community convinced him to change his behaviour towards his daughter - but also talk to a father and his daughter who show the other side of the story with a loving, close and mutually respectful relationship."

Well-worth listening to.