In response to last night’s shocking BBC Panorama
Last night my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing as I received message after message that apparently the BBC were caught trying to subliminally smear a large segment of British Muslims. “Islam21c is on Panorama!” I already knew, but I was rewinding it again and again, making sure I was actually awake. I saw Muslim friends on social media expressing a similarly dazed disbelief at their own newfound otherness: “I can’t believe I was on Panorama...” Apparently we are non-violent extremists whose goal is to take over the country. And then the world. The cherry-picked interviewees, misquoted sound-bites and the ominous music had even…
France Attack – the response [Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6f7qg-zjIo Reactions to Charlie Hebdo The Charlie Hebdo shootings have provoked a storm of sensationalist reactions from opportunists across the spectrum. At Islam21c we have been working hard to sift through the rhetoric and find reasoned analysis from all quarters - links are available below to read. Don't forget to like, comment and share! To keep up with the latest articles on Islam21c.com subscribe to our mailing list here We also direct your attention to the seminal report written by Prof. Arun Kundnani since empirically-refuted connections are being made left, right and centre, between these shootings and the shooters' incidental ideology - read…
“Extremism” does NOT cause terrorism
Last night in the House of Commons, think tank Claystone released a ground-breaking report written by Professor Arun Kudnani, author of “The Muslims are coming! Islamophobia, Extremism and the Domestic War on Terror”. The launch enjoyed a full house with attendees from all sectors of society including many policy makers. The report is a thorough, comprehensive exposé on the fallacy that is the “conveyor-belt” theory to terrorism, which is an underlying premise for most, if not all, government policy on counter-terrorism since 2006; a fairytale invented and pushed by neoconservative think tanks and Islamophobic organisations throughout the last decade. This…
#ToddlerTerror: How to Spot a Terrorist Toddler
In a seemingly desperate attempt to flog the dead horse, PREVENT, the Home Secretary Theresa MayCarthy has done something remarkable. Again. Under the proposed new Counter Terrorism and Security (CTS) bill she is trying to get through parliament to get even more powers of arbitrary arrest, detention, passport confiscation and other patriotic services to the nation, nursery school staff and registered child-minders will be recruited as spies for her and have to report toddlers “at risk of becoming terrorists.” However, academics, journalists, politicians, head teachers, human rights and due process advocacy groups and all manner of annoying people with common…
Claystone’s report exposes anti-Muslim bias of Charity Commission
London-based think tank, Claystone, released a damning report yesterday exposing the Charity Commission’s apparent bias against Muslim charities. The 34-page report focuses on the period following the appointment of its current controversial right-wing chairman, William Shawcross, in 2012. Shawcross used to be a trustee and director of the infamous Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a neoconservative think tank that has been accused many times of being Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian rights. “Special treatment” for Muslims The report mentions that Muslim charities have been disproportionately affected by investigations from the Commission since the appointment of Shawcross, with 38% of all disclosed investigations initiated…
Muslims are taking over the country! One restaurant at a time…
Background Despite an eventful news week full of murderous maniacs on the loose in London , 19,000 Barclays employees getting the boot and a few international crises to top it off , those attention-seeking Muslims seem to be at it again, filling our front pages, timelines and radio talk shows with this halal meat non-issue. Again. The seemingly random alliances of radically different disenfranchised segments of society against Islamic symbols or practices is becoming somewhat of a lingering annoyance. Whether it be what Muslims wear , where they choose to sit or what they eat, haters of different aspects bring…
“When will it be right to be Muslim and gay?”
Background The above question has been the subject of a lingering controversy over the last few weeks, spawning heated, emotional reactions from all quarters. Two weeks ago, a mosque in Birmingham came under fire after hosting BBC Three’s “Free Speech” programme, for asking for a debate on the question not to take place there, allegedly due to threats to the safety of the venue. It was decided that the debate be postponed for a fortnight later in a neutral venue, however this was predictably spun by those with a particular agenda as “censorship”, “making demands” and “special treatment for minorities”,…
How should Muslims View Tony Benn’s death?
After the battle of Badr, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said regarding 72 captives, “Had Mut’im b. ‘Aqiy been alive, and said to me one word regarding these captives, I would have set them all free for him.” This is a decoration of honour that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) gave to a man that died as an idol worshipper, because of his conduct and honourable service towards justice and truth, even though he was not guided to Islām. Mut’im was involved in the Hilf al-Fuḍūl, where for the first time in pre-Islamic Arabia, the oppressed would be…
“FGM”: The Latest Attempt to Dehumanise Muslims
Moments after the vitriolic attack by the Daily Mail against Muslim families going to Legoland, it seems that the hate industry has swiftly moved on to something else to dehumanise Muslims. In a seemingly last-ditch attempt, clutching at straws, the latest attempt to demonise Muslims has been in scapegoating local scholar, Dr Haitham al-Haddad for “supporting FGM” (female genital mutilation), by carefully redacted statements of Islam’s Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and Juristic traditions. The proximity of the two campaigns could be indicative of (i) a coordinated attack against Muslims, (ii) some opportunistic bloggers trying to make a name for themselves,…
Segregation and the Useful Idiot Paradigm
Also read: Liberal & Progressive Left? Not Really Introduction This week a report published last month by Universities UK (UUK), a union representing the nation’s Higher Education institutions, has received fresh criticisms from a new and somewhat surprising type of adversary. They published a report advising universities on procedures pertaining to hosting events with external speakers. It advised based upon relevant existing laws, such as the Education Act and the Equalities Act, including a case study of religious societies providing voluntary specific seating for male and female attendees, advising particularly on how equality and free speech obligations interact in banning…