Bradford Politics

Interesting points here

Interesting reflections on the dynamics of politics in Bradford (and beyond) from @politicshome.bsky.social

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— Gary R. Bunt (@garyrbunt.bsky.social) 6 November 2025 at 09:56

Bradford Muslim Communities

BBC News, Fewer cousins marrying in Bradford's Pakistani community, 18 November 2023 "The number of people in Bradford's Pakistani community who have married a cousin has fallen sharply in the past 10 years, a study suggests. Higher educational attainment, new family dynamics and changes in immigration rules are thought to be possible reasons."

Bradford

Anila Baig, Mirror, 'Suella Braverman is wrong - we have always had Muslim neighbours and it's great', 27 Sep 2023 "The Home Secretary gave a speech declaring that ‘multiculturalism has failed’ and complaining that people from certain religious backgrounds live ‘parallel lives’ because they have failed to integrate and, alarmingly, are a threat to national security. Ms Braverman trotted out the usual myths and misinformation about ethnic minorities in the UK." Opinion/analysis

Trial verdict

Robyn Vinter, Guardian, Somaiya Begum: man jailed for life for murder of niece who refused marriage, 15 March 2023 "She had been living at the house with another of her uncles and her grandmother under the terms of a forced marriage protection order, following attempts by her father to force her to marry a cousin in Pakistan “by threat of violence”, a jury heard."

Rawḍah mosque

Greensville Trust, The Making of an English Gothic Mosque "This short documentary takes a look behind the scenes during the early stages of the development of the Rawḍah mosque at Muṣṭafā Mount in Bradford." A very interesting clip. (tip: Yahya Birt)

COVID-19: Bradford Women in Bradford - report

Muslim Women's Council, The Impact of Covid-19 on Muslim Women In Bradford

"The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on our lives. Since the start of the lockdown in the UK in 2020, a national debate is constantly taking place amongst the political parties & public on how the pandemic has been controlled by the government. This has sparked local debates about the existing councils. This study looks at how the pandemic has affected the local communities and how the decisions that were made on a national level affected Muslim women in Bradford."

Covid-19 UK

Aina Khan, Al Jazeera, British South Asians suffer heavy toll as coronavirus surges

"Ethnic minority communities in the UK, hard-hit by the pandemic, have been forced to adapt how they say farewell." Important article by Aina Khan, and photos by Abdu Pilgrim

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

'How I became a secret daytime DJ'

BBC News, 'How I became a secret daytime DJ' "In the 1980s, many British South Asian teenagers were expected to spend evenings at home, so an underground club scene began to emerge in the afternoons. One of the people behind the "daytimer" trend in Bradford, a young DJ called Moey Hassan, told the BBC's Kavita Puri how it began." Taken from the excellent BBC series Three Pounds in My Pocket.

Takeaways Are a Safe Space for Bradford’s Young Muslims

Aina Khan, Vice, Takeaways Are a Safe Space for Bradford’s Young Muslims "In Bradford, a city where almost one quarter of residents identify as Muslim and youth services have been ravaged by austerity cuts, chicken and kebab shops provide cheap, halal food and a place to hang out."

'Combustion' play

Tara Arts, Combustion

 "Asif Khan’s debut play is a fabulously comic take on the combustion surrounding young British Muslim lives."  I'd like to see this. Great poster, too.

'Bradford comes of age'

Akbar Ahmed, thefridaytimes.com, Bradford comes of age, 17 June 2016 "For several decades, the image of the Muslim community of Bradford, and the region around it, has been depicted in the media as that of angry-looking, white-bearded Pakistani men dressed in shalwar-kameez demanding the death of Salman Rushdie. Today, however, it is that of educated, intelligent smart women – also with a Pakistani background."

'The Deobandis'

BBC Radio 4, The Deobandis "The BBC's former Pakistan correspondent Owen Bennett Jones investigates which strands of Deobandi opinion have influence in the UK, speaking to people from within the British Deobandi community, from scholars to missionaries to madrassa students.

"In the first of two programmes he explores claims that Deobandi Islam is intentionally isolationist and that its strict beliefs put it at odds with mainstream British culture, leaving the community segregated from wider British society. Though if true, is that really the fault of Deobandi Muslims?"

This is worth a listen, with some interesting points on religious authority, gender and education.

Bradford Jewish-Muslim Relations

thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, City's synagogue council appoints first Muslim member as 'strikingly close' relations between two faiths deepen further " A spokesman for the synagogue in Bowland Street, Manningham, said the addition of Mr Rashid to the council marked another chapter in the "strikingly close relationship" between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Bradford.

"In 2013, community groups, including Bradford Council for Mosques, rallied together to save the Grade II-listed building - an example of Moorish Victorian architecture dating back to 1880 - when dwindling funds put its future in danger."

Bradford bus driver Mohammad is now at the wheel of the TUC

thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, Bradford bus driver Mohammad is now at the wheel of the TUC " A Bradford bus driver is now at the wheel of the powerful TUC after being elected its first Asian and Muslim president."

'Sex Grooming: Muslims To Hear Hard-Hitting Sermon In British Mosques'

huffingtonpost.co.uk, Sex Grooming: Muslims To Hear Hard-Hitting Sermon In British Mosques "Thousands of Muslims will hear a hard-hitting sermon condemning sex grooming in mosques at the end of June, emphasising strict Koranic messages on respect and morality."  Also see Bradford Telegraph & Argus, Bradford Imam Alyas Karmani drafts sermon to condemn grooming  " The hard-hitting Islamic message, called a Khutba, has already been sent to 50 local Imams to be delivered during Friday prayers on June 28."

Bradford: British Muslims Save Jewish Synagogue

OnIslam, British Muslims Save Jewish Synagogue, 7 Mar 2013

One Direction Fans Hit Back At Zayn Malik 'Pimping Islam' Claims

Bradford Telegraph & Argus, One Direction Fans Hit Back At Zayn Malik 'Pimping Islam' Claims, 21 Jun 2012 "Bradford pop star Zayn Malik has flown back alone to the UK midway through his band One Direction’s tour of America after an attack by a right-wing talk show host and blogger who accused him of “pimping Islam” at his young female fans."

Paving a political path to Bradford's Muslim women

Guardian, Paving a political path to Bradford's Muslim women, 11 Jun 2012 "Much has been made of Pakistani Muslim male politics in Bradford since Labour's historic defeat in the Bradford West by-election earlier this year. And since Muslim women were credited with being a key component of George Galloway's stunning victory, Labour has been keen to court this unlikely female electorate."

Bradford politics

Guardian, The Northerner Blog, Bradford Muslims must practice serious, mainstream politics to win effective change, 16 May 2012 "The city's former Lord Mayor Mohammed Ajeeb condemns both Labour's lacklustre politics and Respect's firebranding; and reveals how he warned his party's national executive in 1999 about the dangers of 'clan' politics ..."