Mental Health Issues

Attendees will receive hard copies of the mental health toolkit for Imams and scholars - join our next webinar. Details will be posted soon. pic.twitter.com/E88owh025Y

— The British Board of Scholars & Imams (BBSI) (@BBSIOnline) February 23, 2021

Cornwall's Trade Links with Egypt and Iran

Just come across this, published in November 2020 (links into the previous post too) - Caitlin Green, Some Arabic and Persian accounts of the export of tin from Cornwall to Egypt and Iran in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

"The aim of the following piece is simply to share some interesting accounts of the tin-trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, particularly one written in Arabic and another in Persian. Taken together, these two accounts suggest that tin from southwestern England (i.e. Cornwall and Devon) was exported via southern France to both Egypt and ultimately Iran in this period, with it being used by potters in the latter area to make tin-opacified ceramic glazes." This one is particularly interesting to me as I have some Cornish family connections ...

Medieval England and 'Muhammad'

Caitlin Green, Macamathehou in Lincolnshire and the evidence for people named Muhammad in medieval England "The aim of the following draft is to offer some thoughts on a local name from thirteenth-century Lincolnshire, Macamathehou, that involves a version of the Arabic name Muhammad (Middle English Makomet/Macamethe, Old French Mahomet)."

Cambridge's Muslim Heritage

Cambridge Independent, Shahida Rahman interview: 'My mother may have been the first Bengali woman in Cambridge'

"Writer Shahida Rahman discusses the small but significant Bangladeshi community in Cambridge, in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence." There's a great website for Cambridge Muslim Heritage here

#takethevaccine

Thank you to everyone for your support for the film. We would love to hear from you if this has made a difference in your family or with your friends. Please do share and save lives. #takethevaccine pic.twitter.com/0t2fEZ3FRx

— Adil Ray OBE 💙 (@adilray) February 19, 2021

Heathrow: Appalling Conditions for Drivers

BBC News, Heathrow Airport: Muslim minicab drivers forced to pray in bus stop

"Muslim minicab drivers working at Heathrow Airport have described feeling "humiliated" after being forced to pray in a bus stop car park.

Vaccinations

⁦@EnfieldCouncil⁩ community Covid vaccine webinar. Qari Asim from MINAB informs us that the Covid vaccine is completely halal & having a vaccine in Ramadan does NOT break your fast “If anyone saves one life, it is like saving the whole of humanity” (Quran) #getthejab pic.twitter.com/VM6vgQNUwx

— Farzana Hussain (@fhussain73) February 17, 2021

Bradford Central Mosque to become a Covid-19 vaccination centre https://t.co/vMjPuzzsD5

— Telegraph & Argus (@Bradford_TandA) February 17, 2021

Bradford Central Mosque has become the latest mosque to open its doors to become a community COVID-19 vaccination centre.

It follows the likes of other mosques in the region, such as the Jamia Ghausia Centre in Sheffield and Keighley Mosque.https://t.co/6FVTfG8tZL

— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) February 17, 2021

Woman's Hour Under Fire (updated)

Here are a series of posts relating to the Woman's Hour interview with Zara Mohammed:

Guardian, BBC under fire over 'strikingly hostile' interview of Muslim Council of Britain head

"Exclusive: 100 public figures sign letter criticising Radio 4 Woman’s Hour segment with Zara Mohammed.

Nesrine Malik, Opinion, The Guardian, There's a reason Muslim women struggle to make their voices heard

"It has become popular to claim that Islamophobia is a fiction to “shut down” debate. But the reality is that we have now been living in such a hostile environment that we are unable to create a clearing within which the things that we all care about – women’s rights, radicalisation, social and economic exclusion – are discussed without fear. With so many years of suspicion bearing down on every exchange, a conscious effort needs to be made to create that space, one in which conversations are longer, not optimised for viral social media buzz, and in which Muslims are playing a role behind the scenes so they can point out when content is inflammatory and editing unhelpful. If we want to talk about chilling effects on free discussions, let’s start here."

Fatima Rajina, Middle East Eye, BBC vs Zara Mohammed: An exercise in Islamophobia

"Interestingly, the clip that the BBC chose to share on social media was when Barnett asked Mohammed how many female imams there are in Britain. It was less about the question itself than the persistent and seemingly arrogant way in which it was asked - the undermining and condescending manner by which Barnett kept insisting on getting an answer, even interrupting her guest."

Sabah Hussain, Gal-Dem, Zara Mohammed can fight for women’s rights in British Muslim communities without Woman’s Hour

"If there was one thing that the recent Radio 4 Woman’s Hour interview of the first woman leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) set to achieve, it was to peddle the narrative that Muslim communities and organisations are exclusive, oppressive and unsafe for women. Of course, fighting for women’s rights and representation in British Muslim communities and institutions is important, but this wasn’t the way to go about it."

Shahed Ezaydi, Aurelia, The treatment of Zara Mohammed on Woman’s Hour was clickbait Islamophobia, plain and simple

"Many Muslim women will have seen their own experiences reflected in the way Barnett approached her questions to Zara. It’s yet another attempt by white women to paint and reassert Islam in its typical negative stereotype: a ‘backwards’ religion that just doesn’t care about women. It’s a stereotype as old as time. Islam is viewed as this violent and misogynistic religion, where women are treated badly and are living oppressed lives. And because of this, Muslim women couldn’t possibly be linked to feminism, let alone be leading feminists in their fields."

Online magazines and social media have effectively responded to (in my opinion) a poorly informed BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview with Zara Mohammed of MCB. The interviewer, Emma Barnett, has just started on Woman's Hour. I used to listen to her on Radio 5 Live, at a similar time slot. I now listen to Naga Munchetty, who is doing an excellent job at that time (Mondays to Wednesdays).

Let's hope that this is just a blip for Woman's Hour

[Woman's Hour podcasts] https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qlvb/episodes/downloads)

Vaccination

Here's some important advice on the vaccination situation in the UK from Qari Asam. It's significant how social media is being utilised to promote these messages - and one hopes they get through to vulnerable audiences.

Important advice on the vaccine from @QariAsim https://t.co/21ABK4Hi3f

— Gary Bunt (@garybunt) February 2, 2021

MCB Leadership

MCB, PRESS RELEASE: Zara Mohammed Elected Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain | 31st January 2021

“My vision is to continue to build a truly inclusive, diverse and representative body; one which is driven by the needs of British Muslims for the common good. Being elected as the first female Secretary General is quite an honour and I hope it will inspire more women and young people to come forward to take on leadership roles. They are the future of this organisation and our society.”