Al Jazeera, UK media biased against Muslims, says group that analysed 40,000 articles, 9 Mar 2026

"Centre for Media Monitoring reports right-wing outlets The Spectator and GB News often malign Muslims and their faith."

Report link

'The Lady of Heaven'

BBC News, Cineworld cancels The Lady of Heaven film screenings after protests, 8 June 2022 "The film, which was released in UK cinemas on 3 June, claims to tell the story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad."

Updated: the Trojan Horse Affair (podcast)

Updated: here's a link to my Virtually Islamic blog page on the Trojan Horse Affair podcast.
New York Times, Why Claiming British Identity Is Complicated

This long-read looks interesting, and has an accompanying podcast series.

"This article was produced in collaboration with a new podcast from Serial and The New York Times.

“The Trojan Horse Affair,” an eight-part mystery, investigates a strange letter that transformed Britain — and the lives of many British Muslims."

Direct link to podcast (from different providers)

And here's the trailer on Spotify:

Shamima Begum

Muslim Representation

Khadijah Elshayyal, Cage, Rethinking Muslim Representation – 20 years after 9/11

"What can a Muslim political advocacy look like, that addresses Britain’s Muslims themselves and their institutions, with all their diversity and disagreements, their rivalries and their richness?"

Burchill Case

Ash Sarkar, Guardian, Julie Burchill abused me for being Muslim – yet she was cast as the victim "Last December, I was referred to as an Islamist and a paedophile worshipper. I read multiple tweets speculating about whether I’m any good in bed, and insults about me supposedly having a moustache. Strange poems popped up portraying lurid sexual fantasies about having a threesome with me and the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. I saw posts being liked on Facebook that told me to “kill myself for shame” and suggested that I had been a victim of female genital mutilation. None of these were the actions of an anonymous troll – they were the work of Sunday Telegraph columnist Julie Burchill."

Report: "How The British Media Reports Terrorism"

Press Gazette, MCB report says UK media has disproportionate focus on Islam when reporting terror "The report, How The British Media Reports Terrorism, was based on an analysis of 16 terrorist attacks between 2015 and 2020 in America, Britain and Europe as well as the Christchurch attack."

Question Time and Johnson

An audience member on BBC Question Time challenged the author of the bestseller ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ after she defended Boris Johnson’s burka comments pic.twitter.com/Rvs7bs3QX9

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 29, 2019

One man’s (very polite) fight against media Islamophobia

Guardian, One man’s (very polite) fight against media Islamophobia, 18 Oct 2018 "For three years, Miqdaad Versi has waged a quixotic – and always scrupulously courteous – campaign against the endless errors and distortions in news about British Muslims. But can a thousand polite complaints make a difference?"

#FinsburyPark - updated

This is a summary of coverage. My Twitter feed contains further updated materials:

BBC News, Eyewitness Hamza Nimane describes what he saw

Telegraph, Finsbury Park mosque tragedy in pictures

Guardian, Finsbury Park terror attack: 'Every bit as sickening' as previous attacks, says Theresa May – latest updates

 BBC News, Footage shows the moment crowds restrain man suspected of driving van into pedestrians near #FinsburyPark mosque 

Metro,  Imam from Muslim welfare centre protected Finsbury Park suspect from angry crowds

Archbishop of Canterbury's statement 

Guardian, Religious leaders unite in condemnation of Finsbury Park attack

Nesrine Malik, Guardian, After Finsbury Park, Britain must tackle its preachers of anti-Muslim hate

Qari Asam, Telegraph, Britain is not Islamophobic. This is one of the best countries in the world to be a Muslim [paywall]

The Times' headline is proving controversial, and has been compared with the London Bridge attack. The headline (and sub-header) on the right presents numerous cliches and stereotypes:


Metro, Son of Finsbury Park van hire company owner says: ‘It’s a shame we don’t hire out tanks’

Mirror, Daughter held dad as he died in her arms moments after Finsbury Park terror van 'ran over his legs'

Independent, Facebook posts 'glorifying' Finsbury Park terror attack reported to Government counter-extremism service 

Independent, Finsbury Park mosque attack: EDL founder Tommy Robinson's appearance on Good Morning Britain sparks outrage "Piers Morgan branded Mr Robinson a "bigoted lunatic" and told him to "show some damn respect for people’s religious beliefs" as Mr Robinson held up the Islamic holy book." Also see Daily Mail, Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson slammed on Twitter after he accuses Finsbury Park Mosque of 'creating terrorists' just one hour after people were mown down outside a place of worship

New York Times,   An Attack on Muslims Shakes Cosmopolitan London

Chris Allen, Huffington Post, Why Theresa May Is Wrong To Suggest That Islamophobia Is A Form Of Extremism 

Press representation issues

Catrin Nye, BBC News, The man correcting stories about Muslims "When one newspaper reported last year that "enclaves of Islam see UK as 75% Muslim" last year, Miqdaad Versi's instinct was to challenge it. He believes errors in the reporting of Muslims have become all too common, and has made it his mission to fight for corrections."

'What British Muslims really think about Channel 4's show'

Guardian, What British Muslims really think about Channel 4's show, 14 Apr 2016 "We asked British Muslims to review Channel 4’s show: What British Muslims Really Think. Here’s what they said." Some excellent comments here. They should be read by anyone planning to research/write about Muslims in the UK.

'What It’s Like Being Muslim In 2016'

Afroze Zaidi Jivraj. mediadiversified.org, What It’s Like Being Muslim In 2016 research on 'Islamophobia'

#FoxNewsFacts

Independent, Twitter responds to Fox News’ Muslim Birmingham claims in the most British way possible "Talk about poking a tiger. Steve Emerson, a so-called ‘terrorism expert’, got slightly more publicity than he intended after claiming on Fox News that Birmingham was “totally Muslim” and a “no-go zone” for non-Muslims."

Also see the wonderful responses in:

Huffington Post, Fox News Commentator Just Claimed Birmingham Is A Muslim-Only City #FoxNewsFacts

Express, Fox News terror expert forced to apologise after claiming Birmingham is 'totally Muslim'  

Guardian,  Fox News expert ridiculed over Birmingham is ‘totally Muslim city' claims

Opinion piece on 'Newsnight' item

Myriam Francois-Cerrah, huffingtonpost.co.uk, What I Might Have Said If I Had Been on Newsnight... "On Monday evening, Newsnight convened a panel of Muslims to discuss a short film on the topic ‎of "who speaks for Muslims", made by Quilliam Foundation's Maajid Nawaz. The panel included ‎the journalist Mehdi Hasan and the Muslim commentator Mo Ansar and was chaired, (although ‎arguably not much!) by Jeremy Paxman.‎"

Rev.

BBC iPlayer, Rev, 3:1 "Adam's wife Alex gives birth to their daughter in dramatic circumstances. Adam teams up with a local imam to help improve the community - but is his new colleague friend or foe?" Some of this episode was filmed adjacent to (and inside) East London Mosque. The excellent cast included Kayvan Novak from Four Lions.

Commentary on Lewthwaite controversy

Jamie Gilham, Guardian, CIF, 'White widow': public enemy No 1 "On Monday morning the front pages of the tabloids condemned "evil" and "fanatical" Samantha Lewthwaite, aka the white widow, as the Nairobi "bloodbath mastermind". The precise nature of the tragic events in Nairobi are still unfolding and, when the tabloids went to press on Sunday night, little was known about Lewthwaite's alleged involvement in the Nairobi attack. A few days on, we still don't know much, and the evidence against Lewthwaite is scant and contradictory. Nevertheless the Muslim convert and widow of 7/7 attacker Germaine Lindsay has become the symbol of home-grown terrorism, a target of fear and loathing."

British Muslims start winning the war on terrorism hyperbole

British Muslims start winning the war on terrorism hyperbole - The National, 29 Mar 2013: "Some observers suggest a growing sophistication - by British authorities, in particular - in the handling of stories of Islamic radicalism."

Call for inquiry into media bias

The National, Calls for UK inquiry into 'anti-Muslim media bias', 27 Jan 2012 "A campaign is under way for a public inquiry led by a judge into the way some British media whip up Islamophobia by "distorting and even fabricating" stories about Muslims."

Book: Pointing the Finger: Islam and Muslims in the British Media

Peter Stauber (Reviewer), Counterfire, Pointing the Finger: Islam and Muslims in the British Media  

Book review of Pointing the Finger: Islam and Muslims in the British Media, eds. Julian Petley and Robin Richardson (Oneworld Publications 2011), 352pp

There's also a review by Tom Mills at New Left Project, Book Review: Pointing the Finger

As with so many other titles I refer to in my blogs, I haven't read this book yet (it cropped up in one of my student's papers!), but look forward to seeing it sometime.