Looking Back to Move Forward
Scroll down to see an interactive timeline of articles on history over the last twelve months. “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” ― Winston Churchill Whilst aspects of history are important to be learnt by all peoples, those that have been subjected to a sustained effort to disconnect them from their heritage and legacy of world-shaping giants must pay extra attention. Epistemicide is a well studied phenomenon in postcolonial and decolonial scholarship which has played a key role in European hegemony in particular. It is often described as, A war on knowledge, destruction of…
‘I don’t think Black people are free in America’
An interview with civil rights attorney and author Bryan Stevenson by Alice Speri in The Intercept ALTHOUGH THE UNITED STATES has just elected a new president whose promise to make America great “again” evoked an unspecified, presumably more glorious past, Americans’ appreciation of their own history, and particularly its most damning chapters, is limited at best. The country’s long history of racial violence can hardly be denied, but that history is regularly erased from public commemoration. Some civil rights victories are celebrated, but the violence that preceded them is seldom acknowledged. Aiming to confront and reclaim that history, the Equal Justice Initiative,…
Leaked Gov document names Muslim orgs receiving £1million+ in PREVENT funding
(London) – A Home Office document titled ‘Local Delivery Best Practice Catalogue’ leaked by Public Interest Investigations highlights in full organisations and projects vetted and funded by the government to deliver the controversial PREVENT strategy nationally. Produced by the OSCT (Office for Security and Counter Terrorism), the document reveals: – The OSCT’s admission that Faith on the Frontline; FAST, #MakingAStand (delivered by Inspire) and A Tale of Two Cities (film) are all ‘products’ of the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU). – The direct relationship between the OSCT and ‘third party provider’ organisations. – The costs associated with these programmes and the…
The Ummah’s Anguish on the Road to Victory
Many will present the Ummah's suffering over the past 12 months in ways that will achieve nothing but feelings of hopelessness and defeat. Our message is different…
Israeli minister to propose official annexation of more of Palestine
The far-right Israeli education minister, Naftali Bennett, has vowed to introduce a bill this month to formally annex Maale Adumim, one of Israel’s largest settlement blocks in the occupied Palestinian territories. In remarks made at a museum in the city of 40,000 located outside Jerusalem, Bennett said: “After being here for 50 years, the time has come to end military rule.” The hardline leader of the Jewish Home party also made clear that he saw the annexation of Maale Adumim as a first step in annexing all of “area C”, the part of the occupied territories still under full Israeli control. “For…
Islamic Deformation & Dystopic Neocon Threat
It is that time of the year: a hectic month as the British people recover from their frenzied Christmas shopping, briefly punctuated with the peace of the annual family get together, only to be followed by scrambling over various items thanks to the hype produced by corporations eager to increase the debt through boxing day “sales”. As the recovery from these activities begins and the damage to the bank accounts dawn, we take advantage of this lull for some customary reflection. This year has been a particularly unsettling one; the sordidly racist campaign which ultimately culminated in Brexit; the far-right…
Will Britain’s new definition of antisemitism help Jewish people?
Antisemitism is anathema. From Ken Livingstone to Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi, no one has a good word to say for it. For some there has been a crisis in 2016, for others there has been a witch-hunt. Everyone is against antisemitism: we just can’t agree on how to recognise it. This year there have been no less than three inquiries and reports on antisemitism: Janet Royall’s presented in May, Shami Chakrabarti’s at the end of June (I served as one of the vice-chairs to this inquiry, although the resulting report was Chakrabarti’s alone) and the home affairs committee report…
Politics and problems of new antisemitism definition
Antisemitism is anathema. From Ken Livingstone to Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi, no one has a good word to say for it. For some there has been a crisis in 2016, for others there has been a witch-hunt. Everyone is against antisemitism: we just can’t agree on how to recognise it. This year there have been no less than three inquiries and reports on antisemitism: Janet Royall’s presented in May, Shami Chakrabarti’s at the end of June (I served as one of the vice-chairs to this inquiry, although the resulting report was Chakrabarti’s alone) and the home affairs committee report…
Looking back with Islam21c
The last 12 months have been full of historical events both internationally and domestically, and by the Grace of Allah, Islam21c has been among those at the forefront of bringing information, guidance and solutions to Muslims in the English-speaking world. Whilst there are many websites individually catering for either the spiritual, philosophical, political or news needs of the Ummah, Islam21c—in keeping with its ethos and vision—consciously tries to merge all of these domains and more for the 21st century Muslim audience. Our vision in particular also extends to uniting Muslims globally and increasing genuine, meaningful cooperation on shared, orthodox principles, whilst…
New Counter Extremism Bill targets peoples “miles away” from terrorism
The UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, has highlighted the dangerous and counterproductive nature of new Counter Extremism Bill that the Government has been trying to formulate. New anti-extremism measures planned by the Government could be "very dangerous", the terror law watchdog has warned. Expressing serious concerns about the Counter Extremism Bill, David Anderson QC, said people who are "miles away" from terrorism could be investigated because of their religion under expected proposals to combat those with vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values. The difficulty "is that they want to bring in an element of coercion to this process", the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation,…
