British Asians 'struggle for top jobs despite better school results'

Guardian, British Asians 'struggle for top jobs despite better school results', 27 Dec 2016 "Social Mobility Commission study says group’s lower likelihood of being employed in managerial or professional jobs is down to workplace discrimination" The Social Mobility Commission report Ethnicity, gender and social mobility is available as a pdf here

'Crusader' hate graffiti daubed on Scottish mosque

heraldscotland.com, 'Crusader' hate graffiti daubed on Scottish mosque "The graffiti was seemingly inspired by the Crusades, with the words "Saracen go home" and "Deus Vult", a rallying cry for Crusader knights meaning 'God Willing', spray-painted on the walls of the mosque in Cumbernauld. Officers are treating the incident as a hate crime."

#MuslimsLikeUs

BBC, Muslims Like Us, 12-13 Dec 2016

The first episode aired last night. An interesting programme, dominated (inevitably?) by Abdul Haq and his leaflets. Go beneath the surface, and some important issues and dialogues emerge - even within the 'reality' format.  Here are some comments and opinions (not necessarily my own); I've also been tweeting on this.

Mail Online, ISIS supporter on BBC show 'has important voice' insists TV boss: Production chief defends decision to include him despite his 'incredibly offensive' comments

Evening Standard, Muslims Like Us viewers slam ‘prejudiced’ Abdul Haqq and praise Mehreen in BBC2 reality show, 13 Dec 2016 

Telegraph, Muslims Like Us is a wake-up call for Islamophobes everywhere

Metro, Viewers praise ‘genuinely excellent’ BBC Two documentary Muslims Like Us

Episode 2 airs tonight (13th December 2016) - and is available on iPlayer.

‘Unsettled Belonging – A Survey of Britain’s Muslim Communities’

Independent, This week a report which gathered data on what British Muslims really think was released – and the results were surprising, 4 Dec 2016 [by Saeida Rouass, Project Manager at the Quilliam Foundation], 4 Dec 2016 "Today, a report was quietly released by the Policy Exchange that examined exactly what Muslims living in Britain really think about the country and its people. Its title was ‘Unsettled Belonging – A Survey of Britain’s Muslim Communities’, and it confirmed what many British Muslims have been saying for a long time: “We are just like everyone else, with similar concerns, aspirations, hopes and fears.”

Report link here:

Martyn Frampton, David Goodhart and Khalid Mahmood MP, Unsettled Belonging: A survey of Britain’s Muslim communities (Policy Exchange)  I have yet to read this report. 

Casey Review (updated)

gov.uk, The Casey Review: a review into opportunity and integration [pdf]

BBC News, Segregation at 'worrying levels' in parts of Britain, Dame Louise Casey warns "Segregation and social exclusion are at "worrying levels" and are fuelling inequality in some areas of Britain, a report has found.

"Women in some communities are denied "even their basic rights as British residents", the Casey Review said."

The report has generated a variety of comments and opinions, of which this is a small selection:

Guardian, Why do so many Muslim women find it hard to integrate in Britain?

Aina Khan, Guardian,  Guardian, Sorry, Louise Casey, but Muslim women are held back by discrimination 

Julia Rampen, New Statesman, The 8 bits of good news about integration buried in the Casey Review

The Sun,  Government officials spent more on Cornish language lessons than on English ones for struggling Brits, reveals damning report

Sadia Habib, Sociological Review, It’s the Government’s Unbritish Values and Intolerance That Is the Problem, Not Muslims (opinion piece)

100 Women 2016: Bake Off's Nadiya Hussain - Muslim, Bangladeshi, British and proud

100 Women 2016: Bake Off's Nadiya Hussain - Muslim, Bangladeshi, British and proud - BBC News

‘Good Muslim/ bad Muslim’ and ‘good refugee/bad refugee’ are shaping European responses to the refugee crisis

Erin K. Wilson and Luca Mavelli, LSE Blogs, ‘Good Muslim/ bad Muslim’ and ‘good refugee/bad refugee’ are shaping European responses to the refugee crisis

'Muslims Like Us' TV programme

Guardian, Islamist, gay man, teacher: TV housemates bid to show the diversity of British Muslims, 4 Dec 2016 "Filmed over nine days, the two-part documentary will be broadcast next week. The BBC describes it as a “social experiment” looking at the diversity of the Muslim experience in Britain."

'Extremist' is the patron of a Muslim school in Leicester

Daily Mail, 'Extremist' is the patron of a Muslim school in Leicester "The school is one of six that operate out of the Jame'ah Uloomul Qur'an institution, in east Leicester. It is the only one that provides full-time education – between 8am and 2.30pm, Monday to Friday."

Mohammed is now the second-most-popular boy’s name in Britain

Metro, Mohammed is now the second-most-popular boy’s name in Britain