Sunday December 31 2006
British Emigration and the Muslim Question
Yahya Birt
The effects of globalization show very clearly how nationalism and the free flow of capital work against each other. Nations seek to maintain their border controls; the deregulated global economy (deregulation starting with currency exchange in the early 1970s) is breaking down borders, as the flows of capital, people and ideas increase. With respect at least to movement of people, the politics, predictably, focuses on immigrants, but less so on emigrants. While the release of inward migration figures usually sparks heated debate, an important new report on outward migration by the Institute of Public Policy Research, gets presented instead as a slightly jocular item further down the television news agenda.

The Veil... and why these leading Muslims won't wear it
Joan Smith, Independent on Sunday
For many observers, it was the moment when demands for public acceptance of the niqab went too far. Earlier this week, Channel 4's Christmas message was delivered by a veiled woman, a Muslim convert, who criticised the Leader of the House, Jack Straw. It might have been dismissed as a stunt, the kind of provocation Channel 4 is known for. But the spectacle of a woman attacking an elected politician under, literally, a veil of anonymity brought into sharp focus the reasons why its growing popularity in this country makes so many people uneasy.

Saddam is buried in his home town
Mail on Sunday
Executed former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was buried in the early hours of today near to his two sons. Few attended his burial inside a compound for religious ceremonies in the centre of Ouja, northern Iraq, the town where he was born. His burial came a day after he was hanged. His death met with exuberant scenes in the country he once ruled with an iron fist, with people thronging the streets in the capital Baghdad, Basra and Najaf, dancing and sounding their car horns. The former dictator met his fate calmly, although it emerged today that he had been taunted minutes before his death and had a frosty exchange with one of his guards. A new video showed Saddam exchanging taunts with onlookers before the gallows floor dropped away.

And check out:
Is this what they mean by civilisation? (Lindsey German)

Saturday December 30 2006
Lynched by the mob
Tariq Ali, Guardian CIF
It was symbolic that 2006 ended with a colonial hanging - most of it (bar the last moments) shown on state television in occupied Iraq. It has been that sort of year in the Arab world. After a trial so blatantly rigged that even Human Rights Watch - the largest single unit of the US human rights industry - had to condemn it as a total travesty. Judges were changed on Washington's orders; defence lawyers were killed and the whole procedure resembled a well-orchestrated lynch mob. Where Nuremberg was a more dignified application of victor's justice, Saddam's trial has, till now, been the crudest and most grotesque. The Great Thinker President's reference to it "as a milestone on the road to Iraqi democracy" as clear an indication as any that Washington pressed the trigger.

Friday December 29 2006
Muslims claim police bias
Helen McCormack, The Independent
A Muslim couple who missed a flight out of Britain after being detained under terrorism laws said yesterday they plan to take legal action against the police. Aisha Pritchard and her husband, Sadi Elhaloul, a Palestinian, were trying to board their flight from Cardiff International Airport to Dubai on 14 December. The couple claim officers from South Wales Police questioned them for around 20 minutes and then decided to remove their luggage and search it. They agreed, but say that when they were released they were told their plane had departed and, as their tickets with the KLM airline were not transferable, they would have to pay £1,500 to take the next flight. Ms Pritchard said they had passed through security without issue and were only stopped as they neared the boarding gate.

Return of warlords as Somali capital is captured
Xan Rice, The Guardian
Ethiopian tanks rolled into the outskirts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, yesterday after Somalia's Islamist movement abandoned its bases in the city. Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies were wresting back control over Mogadishu as Islamist fighters, surrounded and outgunned, fled in convoy early in the morning towards the southern port city of Kismayo, the only town now controlled by the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. Other militiamen discarded their uniforms and joined clan-based militias in the capital. A number of Islamist leaders left the country.

Muslims 'refuse anti-MRSA gel'
John Troup, The Sun
SOME Muslims are undermining the battle to rid Britain’s hospitals of killer infections by refusing to wash their hands when visiting sick relatives. Dispensers containing anti-bacterial gel have been placed outside wards at hospitals all over Britain in a bid to get rid of superbugs like MRSA and PVL. It prevents people bringing in more infections. But some Muslims refuse to use the hand cleansers on religious grounds because they contain alcohol. Sun doctor Dr Carol Cooper, who practises in West London and works shifts in accident and emergency, said: “I practise in an area where the patients are largely Bangladeshi and some of them do object to washing their hands because of the alcohol. But it’s fantastically important.”

Young Muslims alienated at home find solace at Hajj
Arifa Akbar, The Independent
Yashir Nawab could hardly recognise himself. Gone were the east Londoner's spiky haircut, Gucci shoes and Armani clothes. Yesterday, as he wandered among the throng of pilgrims towards Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, his head was shaven, and he had grown a beard. His only clothing was a simple white robe, to signify all Muslims are equal in the face of God. Mr Nawab, 28, is from Plaistow and works on the London Underground. He is a British-born Indian and, until recently, lived what he described as a Western lifestyle, staying out late with his friends, and often missing prayers. No longer. For he is among a massive wave of young British pilgrims arriving here, motivated in part by an increasing sense of alienation in their homeland.

British muslims and the media
Charlie Beckett, Guardian CIF
This has been the year when the media took on the Muslims. Last year, journalists were obsessed by why a small group of young British Muslims might want to bomb fellow citizens. But, in 2006, journalists put the whole of Muslim culture and politics under the microscope. It all climaxed in one extraordinary week in October with a blizzard of headlines about Muslims. They included an attack on a Muslim dairy, a Muslim taxi driver who refused to carry a guide-dog, a teaching assistant sacked for wearing the veil and, of course, Jack Straw's comments on the niqab.

And check out:
Row over ethnic minority only swimming sessions for women and children (Daily Mail)
Muslims refusing MRSA gel (Rolled Up Trousers)
Homophobia spies in the classroom (Daily Mail)
Unmasked: the veiled white Muslim convert whose great grandmother was a suffragette (Daily Mail)

Thursday December 28 2006
Pope asked to let Muslims pray in cathedral
Dale Fuchs, The Guardian
An organisation of Spanish Muslims has asked Pope Benedict XVI for permission to worship alongside Christians in the former Great Mosque of Córdoba, an elegant vestige of Moorish rule that was turned into a cathedral in the 13th century. In a letter sent on Christmas Day to the Pope's ambassador in Spain, the Spanish Islamic Board requested that the world heritage site - known for its red and white arches and often filled with more tourists than worshippers - be opened for prayer by all religions as a model of tolerance and a way to foster inter-faith dialogue.

Wednesday December 27 2006
Muslim pilgrims gather for Hajj
BBC News Online
Millions of Muslims are gathering in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage which begins on Thursday amid enhanced security. The authorities have implemented new safety and security measures which they say will prevent stampedes that have killed hundreds of people previously. In January 2006, almost 400 people were killed and some 300 injured in a stampede during one of the rituals. Between two and three million pilgrims are expected to take part this year. The Hajj is one of the five basic duties of Islam to be carried out at least once in lifetime and an obligation for all Muslims who are able to undertake the pilgrimage. But strict quotas are imposed in most countries to keep numbers to a relatively manageable level.

Giving a hand up, not a handout
Randeep Ramesh, The Guardian
Muhammad Yunus is an unusual banker: famous but not rich. His celebrity derives from his clients, Bangladesh's poor. By Lending tiny amounts of money to the neediest people on the planet Professor Yunus gave birth to a global banking phenomena: micro-credit. Grameen Bank, which Prof Yunus founded in the mid-seventies, has grown into an emblem of social capitalism, promoting the idea that with just a few dollars the poor would become entrepreneurs, pull themselves out of poverty and lift their poverty-stricken nation with them.

Tuesday December 26 2006
Channel 4's alternative Christmas message is still shrouded in secrecy
Andy Dolan, Daily Mail
A British-born Muslim who delivered Channel 4's alternative Christmas message wearing a full veil was forced to keep her identity a secret yesterday. The woman replaced Khadija Ravat, a 33-year-old Islamic teacher who pulled out earlier this month following criticism from both inside and outside the Muslim community. Yesterday a Channel 4 spokesman said the decision not to identify her during the six-minute broadcast was taken to enable viewers to focus on her "words rather than her identity".

Britain's fears over secret EU terror targets
Philip Johnston and Bruno Waterfield, Daily Telegraph
EU plans to draw up a top-secret list of major terrorist targets are causing concern in Whitehall. British officials fear Brussels may seek to develop its counter-terror role in the same way Europol has expanded in recent years. Under a European Commission proposal, Britain and other member states are required to compile a list of ''critical infrastructure" – installations so sensitive that an attack could trigger a European-level crisis. The list is to be maintained by EU officials in Brussels but Britain is anxious that demarcation lines on counter-terrorism are clearly drawn.

Afghan women suffer daily violence
BBC News Online
Five years ago, after the fall of the Taleban, Afghanistan's new government pledged swift action to improve the lives of women. But a recent report by the international women's organisation Womankind Worldwide said millions of Afghan women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence in their day-to-day lives. The BBC's Afghan service has been talking to Afghan women about their lives. Afghanistan's Women's Affairs Ministry now says it's trying to introduce a new bill to prevent violence against women. But it will also realise that even if a new law is eventually passed, in practice it may be difficult to ensure that it is widely enforced.

And check out:
Our leaders should listen to this man of monstrous ideas (Richard Holloway, The Guardian)
Pakistan's First Miss Bikini Pakistan makes history! (Desiclub.com)
'Thousands' set for UK fox hunts BBC News Online

Sunday December 24 2006
Ban veils in public, says Asian bishop
Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Muslim women should be banned from wearing the veil, to improve security and cohesion in Britain, the Church of England's only Asian bishop has said. The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, urged the Government to introduce legislation that would force Muslims to remove the veil when they are at work or travelling. In an outspoken attack on the custom of Muslim women to cover their faces, the Pakistani-born bishop said that the Islamic community needed to make greater efforts to integrate into British society. "It is fine if they want to wear the veil in private, but there are occasions in public life when it is inappropriate for them to wear it," he said.

Channel tunnel is terror target
Jason Burke, The Observer
The Channel tunnel has been targeted by a group of Islamic militant terrorists aiming to cause maximum carnage during the holiday season, according to French and American secret services. The plan, which the French DGSE foreign intelligence service became aware of earlier this year, is revealed in a secret report to the French government on threat levels. The report, dated December 19, indicates that the tip-off came from the American CIA. British and French intelligence agencies have run a series of checks of the security system protecting the 31-mile tunnel but the threat level, the DGSE warns, remains high. British security services remain on high alert throughout the holiday period.

Veil checks eased as murder suspect fled
Ben Leapman, The Sunday Telegraph
Strict passport checks at Heathrow Airport were relaxed only weeks before suspected police killer Mustaf Jama is alleged to have fled the country disguised beneath a veil, The Sunday Telegraph has learned. A round-the-clock embarkation control regime, under which all outbound passengers were stopped by an immigration officer and women's veils were lifted, was introduced following the London bombings in July 2005. The measure was dropped quietly on cost grounds in September last year, however. The task of checking passengers against their passport photographs reverted to airline staff, who sometimes allow veiled passengers to board flights without having shown their faces.

Al Qaeda Brit Hunt
Vincent Moss, Sunday Mirror
POLICE are hunting a gang of British Muslims known as the English Brothers amid fears they are plotting a major terror attack. The nine men are among a group of Western recruits groomed by al-Qaeda at a secret camp in Pakistan. The revelation came despite latest reports from Britain's security service which played down the threat of an imminent attack. Ministers have been told by MI5 that there is "no known threat" of a terrorist attack in Britain over the Christmas period. But spy chiefs told Downing Street that they are still investigating 30 significant terror plots. Details of the latest al-Qaeda cell emerged this weekend in reports from Pakistan.

PM shelves Islamic group ban
Jamie Doward, The Observer
The Prime Minister has been forced to shelve a central plank of his 'war on terror' strategy after opposition from senior police officers and the Home Office. Plans to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir, the radical Islamic group, have been dropped in the past few days following intense discussions between Number 10 and legal advisers. Counter-terrorism sources said Tony Blair had been warned that banning the group, which campaigns for Britain to become a caliphate - a country subject to Islamic law - would serve only as a recruiting agent if the group appealed against the move.

And check out:
Nazir-Ali jumps in on veil (Indigo Jo Blog)
UN sanctions hit Iran after call by Bush (The Observer)
£10m state cash for first Hindu school (The Observer)
Foreign Office rap for archbishop (The Observer)
Sikh boy admits his attack lie (The Observer)

Saturday December 23 2006
The Muslim prophet born in Bethlehem
Karen Armstrong, The Guardian
In 632, after five years of fearful warfare, the city of Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz voluntarily opened its gates to the Muslim army. No blood was shed and nobody was forced to convert to Islam, but the Prophet Muhammad ordered the destruction of all idols and icons of the Divine. There were a number of frescoes painted on the inner walls of the Kabah, the ancient granite shrine in the centre of Mecca, and one of them, it is said, depicted Mary and the infant Jesus. Immediately Muhammad covered it reverently with his cloak, ordering all the other pictures to be destroyed except that one.

Religion does more harm than good - poll
Julian Glover and Alexandra Topping, The Guardian
More people in Britain think religion causes harm than believe it does good, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. It shows that an overwhelming majority see religion as a cause of division and tension - greatly outnumbering the smaller majority who also believe that it can be a force for good. The poll also reveals that non-believers outnumber believers in Britain by almost two to one. It paints a picture of a sceptical nation with massive doubts about the effect religion has on society: 82% of those questioned say they see religion as a cause of division and tension between people. Only 16% disagree. The findings are at odds with attempts by some religious leaders to define the country as one made up of many faith communities.

Devout Poles show Britain how to keep the faith
Stephen Bates, The Guardian
A miserable, wet, Sunday in west London, sleeting rain blowing in gusts along Ealing Broadway: the sort of day to give church a miss and stay under the duvet. But at Our Lady Mother of the Church, a large, grey-stone Victorian building topped with a steeple, now converted to Roman Catholic use and run by the Marian Fathers, the morning congregation is so closely packed that it is difficult to get through the door and impossible to get beyond the lobby. West London's Polish community is at mass. One little-noticed side effect of the influx of young Poles to Britain since their country's accession to the European Union in 2004 has been an extraordinary boost to Catholic worship.

Friday December 22 2006
BNP ballerina stumbles into the spotlight
Jack Malvern, The Times
The Sugar Plum Fairy in English National Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker had to confront angry colleagues before yesterday’s matinee performance after she was revealed to be a member of the British National Party. Simone Clarke, 36, was named by a newspaper that had infiltrated the party and obtained a membership list. Others reported to be BNP members by The Guardian included Annabel Geddes, founder of the London Dungeon and a former director of the London Tourist Board, and Peter Bradbury, a leading proponent of complementary medicine who has links to the Prince of Wales.

And check out:
Pupils taken out of Islam lessons (islamophobia Watch)
'Can you spot the villain in the veil?' asks Daily Star (islamophobia Watch)

Thursday December 21 2006
Palestinian dispossession is a reason to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day, not boycott it
Salma Yaqoob, The Guardian
The freedom for Muslims to express their identity in Europe is today under attack. Implicit in this attack is the view that Islam is intrinsically repressive, and embodies values alien to western values of liberty, tolerance and democracy. The memory of the Holocaust stands against such a grossly sanitised view of European history. It reminds us that in the heart of modern Europe the demonisation of a religious and cultural minority culminated in genocide - the mass, industrialised slaughter of European Jews. Why then, with European Muslims subject to attacks reminiscent of the gathering storms of anti-Semitism in the first decades of the last century, has Holocaust Memorial Day become such a difficult issue for some British Muslims?

Are Indian Muslims The New "Untouchables"?
Shahed Amanullah, Alt Muslim
For many veteran India-watchers, it comes as no surprise that India's 140 million Muslims are falling behind in many key categories - education, employment, access to credit, imprisonment, poverty, and more. (For non-veteran watchers, the image of the charming and successful Bollywood Muslim is basically a Bollywood myth.) The recent release of the Sachar report, named after a former Indian chief justice who chaired a government-authorized committee to look into the matter, provided reams of new data that back up these assertions. In fact, Muslim employment figures are lower than those of dalits (officially known as "Scheduled Castes" and known in the West as "untouchables"), with 48% male employment (vs. 53%) and 9% female employment (vs. 23%). Also, as with African-Americans, Indian Muslims are disproportionately represented in prisons (11% of the population makes up 40% of inmates).

Mohammed leaves Michael trailing in the name game
Steve Doughty, Daily Mail
The boy's name Mohammed has shot up the popularity charts in a new sign of the deepening influence of Islam on life in Britain. The official count of the baby's names chosen most often last year shows that two different versions were in the top 50 picked by parents. Mohammed, the most common variant of the Muslim Prophet's name, was the 22nd most popular name for boys. And the alternative spelling Muhammad entered the list of the top 50 names for the first time, becoming the 44th in the chart. The rise of Mohammed as a name is an indicator of growing numbers of Muslims in British society in recent years. Recent immigrants have swelled the Muslim population of around 1.6 million counted by the last national census in 2001.

Last stronghold of Somali government under attack
Sahal Abdulle, The Independent
Fighting between Islamists and the embattled interim government continued yesterday, with rockets and machine guns fired at the government's last stronghold in the country. A deadline set by the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), which controls much of the country, for troops from neighbouring Ethiopia to pull out passed unheeded, but a top Islamist leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, denied the fighting marked the start of all-out war. "The war has not started. This is a small incident," Sheikh Aweys told reporters after meeting the European Union's commissioner for development aid, Louis Michel.

And check out:
Media: 'Muslim woman = ruthless gunman' (Islamophobia Watch)
'Can you spot the villain in the veil?' asks Daily Star (Islamophobia Watch)

Wednesday December 20 2006
Islamic teacher sacked over hand shake
Expatica
AMSTERDAM — A Utrecht school wants to sack a female Muslim teacher who refused to shake hands with men. The Vader Rijn College has sent the teacher a letter of dismissal, breaching an advisory ruling urging against the teacher's sacking. The teacher had earlier been suspended after she refused to shake hands with men last summer. The woman citied religious beliefs for her decision, despite the fact she had previously shaken hands with men. The director of the vocational VMBO school said the Islamic teacher gave a bad example to students. The Equal Treatment Commission recently issued an advisory ruling granting the teacher the right to refuse a hand shake. It said the Utrecht school should not sack her for this reason alone.

Brothel visits of 'devout Muslims'
Paul Stokes, The Telegraph
Members of the gang cynically tried to exploit the tenuous links to their professed Islamic faith throughout the case. Their religious "convictions" led to a day of court time being lost to allow them to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid (marking the end of the Ramadan fast) in prison. During the hold-up at the travel agency, Muzzaker Shah warned one of the Asian staff at gunpoint, after showing him golden bullets: "Don't make me shoot you on a Friday [Muslim holy day]." Only hours earlier, three of the gang had been drinking champagne and vodka and smoking cannabis before visiting a brothel.

Beshenivsky suspect 'fled Britain in a veil'
PA/Independent (and most British newspapers today)
Britain's border controls were condemned as "non-existent" today after it was claimed that the suspected murderer of a policewoman fled the country by disguising himself as a veiled Muslim woman. Police reportedly believe that Mustaf Jamma, a prime suspect in the fatal shooting of Pc Sharon Beshenivsky, used his sister's passport and wore a full niqab to evade checks at Heathrow airport. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis insisted there should be an urgent inquiry. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said it "beggars belief" that a wanted criminal could leave the country hidden behind a veil.

Thinking outside the box
Asim Siddiqui, The Guardian CIF
This year ends with Christian (Christmas), Jewish (Chanukah) and Muslim (Eid) days of celebration coinciding. Perhaps a good time for all to reflect and take stock on the challenges we face individually and collectively. The City Circle intends to use 2007 to continue to push the envelope in hosting debates on difficult and challenging issues facing British Muslims and wider society. The need for independent, safe and open spaces within communities to take a self-critical look at themselves has never been more necessary. To encourage Muslims to stop wallowing in a victim's mentality that disempowers them to act as agents of their own change.

And check out:
At least the US Secretary of State speaks English (Mark Steel, The Independent)

Tuesday December 19 2006
War raised terror risk, says Cameron
Anthony Browne, The Times
Britain is at a greater risk of terrorism as a result of having invaded Iraq, David Cameron said in his strongest attack on the conduct of the war. The Conservative leader directly contradicted the Government’s official line — that the invasion has had no impact on the terror threat — as he announced the party’s policy report into the security threat. He said that he was in agreement with the report, written by the Conservatives’ independent security policy committee, which said that “the war on terror has led to more terror”. Asked whether he thought that involvement in Iraq had increased the risk of terrorism, he said that it was just “a statement of fact”.

Christ's birth eclipsed by present concerns
Home Staff, The Times
Fewer than half of children aged seven to eleven think that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, a survey indicates today. The poll of 1,063 children for the BBC’s Newsround also said that one in six felt sad, nervous or left out during the festive season. The vast majority of children enjoy Christmas, with 63 per cent saving their pocket money to buy presents. The average they saved was £34. Mothers came off best, with more than twice as many children saying that they spent more on them (16 per cent) than those who said that they spent more on their fathers (7 per cent).

Chatham House says Iraq foreign policy is a 'debacle'
Tim Shipman, Daily Mail
Tony Blair made a "terrible mistake" by invading Iraq and failed to influence George Bush "in any significant way", according to a devastating report by Britain's leading foreign affairs think tank. The report by Chatham House director Victor Bulmer-Thomas found that the "root failure" of Mr Blair's time in charge was his inability to understand how little influence he had in Washington. The paper also condemned as "unforgivable", the Prime Minister's failure to predict the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the way they would flood the streets of Britain with heroin.

And check out:
Another bid to break Hamas (Azzam Tamimi, Guardian CIF)
This is an attempt to overturn our elections (Karma Nabulsi, Guardian CIF)
The dark side of the Christmas orange harvest/Bitter Harvest (The Guardian)

Monday December 18 2006
Tory leader to back plans for UK security council to help fight terrorism
James Chapman, Daily Mail
David Cameron will back a plan to create a U.S. style National Security Council to coordinate the fight against terrorism. A Tory policy group will argue that the new body would ensure that domestic security is better considered by government when foreign policy decisions are being taken. It will also conclude that Britain is widely regarded as a 'mute partner' to the United States and insist the relationship is put on a 'better footing'. The group, which is chaired by Britain's former spy chief, Dame Pauline Neville Jones and will publish its initial findings today, will say the link between the Iraq conflict and the terrorist threat at home is now indisputable.

In Iran, The Holocaust Brings People Together
Zahir Janmohamed, Alt.Muslim
There is something about Christmas time that brings about delusions: innocent ones, such as children who cling to the belief that Santa Claus exists, and the not-so innocent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who thinks the Holocaust is a myth. This week Iran played host to the verbosely titled, "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust," an event vociferously condemned by Muslim groups such as CAIR. The logic of the conference - if one can make sense of it - is that "if the holocaust is questioned officially, then the existence of the Zionist regime will also be questioned," as the Iranian Foreign Minister claims.

Gaza fighting casts shadow over PM's visit
Rory McCarthy, The Guardian
Mr Blair, who is due to meet the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, today, infuriated moderate Palestinian MPs yesterday by backing Mr Abbas's call for early elections to resolve the protracted stand-off between Hamas and Fatah. The proposal, which also has the backing of the US and Israel, triggered a fresh round of fighting between militant groups. Moderate MP Mustafa Barghouti said the idea of early elections was a mistake. "It is very difficult to have early elections without consensus between the different groups," he said. "You can't just have an election without people agreeing to that election."

A modern-day slavery is flourishing in Britain, and we just avert our eyes
Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
Nehad has the hunched look of a man who has lived with fear for years. It was to escape fear that he fled Iraq for Europe in 2003, hoping to start a new life beyond the reach of the torture and prisons of Saddam Hussein's regime in northern Iraq. But after four years of failed asylum applications in the UK, he is still living in fear. He's too nervous to tell his story inside the cafe where we meet for fear of eavesdroppers, so we sit outside. He flinches as a policewoman passes. He says he never answers a knock on his front door at home in Birmingham; friends know to call first to tell him they are coming.

Muslim dinners for church kids
Jamie Pyatt, The Sun
PUPILS at a Church of England school are only able to eat Muslim meals because of a council ruling. The only meat on the menu at the primary school is halal — where animals are controversially bled to death. Children have been eating the meat for up to SEVENTEEN years at FOUR schools in Reading, Berkshire, without parents’ knowledge, the council admitted yesterday. The fact emerged after pupils were given letters from canteen managers to take home. Islamic law insists on halal meat, produced by slashing an animal’s neck with a single cut. Animals are not stunned beforehand.

Losing their religion
Brian Whitaker, The Guardian CIF
The Egyptian government - along with many others in the Middle East - requires all citizens to register their religious affiliation. It is a daft and unnecessary infringement of privacy but not a huge problem for most Egyptians. It's a different matter, though, for about 2,000 Egyptian members of the Baha'i faith. They have suffered various forms of discrimination since the 1960s but the latest problem involves computerised ID cards.Recently updated software allows only three options in the "religious affiliation" section: Muslim, Christian or Jewish. Attempts to enter "other", "none", or to leave a blank are rejected by the computer - with the result that no ID card can be issued to Baha'is unless they lie about their religion. Without an ID card they effectively become non-citizens.

'Osama Bin Laden' is killed
The Sun
A marksman has shot dead an elephant nicknamed Osama Bin Laden which is blamed for the deaths of 27 people. The 10ft tall bull was gunned down in a tea plantation in Assam, north east India. It is believed to have killed 14 people in the past month alone. But conservationists claim rangers gunned down the wrong elephant. They say the jumbo was shot more than 50 miles from Osama’s usual habitat — and was buried before its footprints could be checked.

And check out:
Threat to stop jobless benefits for 'can work, won't work' refuseniks (The Times)
TUC comment on welfare reform proposals (TUC)
Don't lose sight of Christ, say Britons (Daily Telegraph)
Muslims protest after school drops ‘Virgin’ from Mary’s name (Burnley Citizen)

Sunday December 17 2006
Ministers compared to Nazis over Islam stigma
Tom Harper, Sunday Telegraph
A senior Muslim invoked Hitler's 1930s Nazi regime while attacking the Government over its treatment of British Muslims. Muhammed Abdul Bari accused ministers of stigmatising Britain's Islamic community and fuelling xenophobia. Mr Bari, the head of the Muslim Council of Britain, criticised the Government for "unfairly targeting" Muslims, and said that it was undermining their status as "equal citizens". He warned that blaming extremism on "a small, largely deprived community" leads to a "deterioration of community cohesion and fuels xenophobia".

O, Muslim town of Bethlehem...
Elizabeth Day, Mail on Sunday
All is quiet in Bethlehem. On Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity stands in the pale gloom of dusk, its doors open to passing pilgrims. But inside, the nave is empty of visitors and the collection boxes depleted of coins. In the candlelit grotto downstairs, a silver star marks the spot where Jesus is supposed to have been born. It is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, but there are no tourists queuing to see it. Just 500 yards down the road, Joseph Canawati is not looking forward to Christmas. The expansive lobby of his 77-room Hotel Alexander is empty and he says: "There is no hope for the future of the Christian community. "We don't think things are going to get better. For us, it is finished."

And check out:
Nun accused of religious harassment (LSE)
We are incapable of investigating fraud (Will Hutton, The Observer)
Khadija Ravat pulls out of 'alternative Christmas message' (Islamophobia Watch)
Letter to the BBC about Vanessa Feltz (Indigo Jo blog)

Saturday December 16 2006
Veil-wearing Muslim woman backs out of Channel 4 alternative to Queen's message
Richard Alleyne, Daily Telegraph
A muslim woman who was due to deliver Channel 4's alternative Christmas message wearing a full veil backed out yesterday after criticism from inside and outside her community. Earlier this month, Khadija Ravat agreed to front the six-minute slot that is broadcast as the Queen delivers her own thoughts on Christmas Day. She said she wanted to argue that women should have the right to cover their faces if they choose. Yesterday, however, after talks with the producers, the part-time primary school teacher from Leicester told Channel 4 that she could not go through with the project.

Friday December 15 2006
Diplomat's suppressed document lays bare the lies behind Iraq war
Colin Brown and Andy McSmith, The Independent
The Government's case for going to war in Iraq has been torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. A devastating attack on Mr Blair's justification for military action by Carne Ross, Britain's key negotiator at the UN, has been kept under wraps until now because he was threatened with being charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act.  In the testimony revealed today Mr Ross, 40, who helped negotiate several UN security resolutions on Iraq, makes it clear that Mr Blair must have known Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction.

Telling it like it is
Soumaya Ghannoushi, The Guardian CIF
Responses to Jimmy Carter's bestselling book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid have varied between indifference and knee-jerk accusations of anti-Semitism. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Carter said: "For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts ... It would be almost politically suicidal for members of Congress to espouse a balanced position between Israel and Palestine, to suggest that Israel comply with international law or to speak in defence of justice or human rights for Palestinians." Responses to Carter's book are quite revealing.

General Assembly adopts resolutions criticizing Israeli actions against Palestinians
UN News/Electronic Intifada
The General Assembly has adopted several resolutions criticizing Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territory, in particular by reiterating its call for a complete halt to all settlement activity and calling on the Government to ensure the safety of United Nations staff providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. These resolutions were among two dozen adopted yesterday, along with two draft decisions, covering a wide range of issues, including decolonization, UN information policy, the peaceful use of outer space and others, which were recommended for action by the Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth) Committee.

Thursday December 14 2006
Newspapers that used illegal information listed
David Leigh and Rob Evans, The Guardian
A league table of newspapers and magazines which have paid private detectives to obtain illegal information about celebrities and other individuals was published yesterday. The Daily Mail came top. Richard Thomas, the information commissioner with the job of protecting people's privacy, compiled the report from evidence found by his investigators during a raid on a private detective who was working undercover for a string of newspapers and celebrity magazines. The detective, Stephen Whittamore, sold information he obtained from the police national computer until he was exposed and convicted in 2005.

Speaking on our own terms
Fareena Alam, The Guardian CIF
Muslim women are fast becoming the battleground on which the future of Islam and Muslims in the UK and beyond is being fought. At his much-anticipated speech on the future of multiculturalism last Friday, Tony Blair recommended that the Equal Opportunities Commission open an official investigation into the kind of access women are given in Britain's mosques. This of course was said in the same breath as he reiterated his support for Jack Straw's now stale remarks on the face veil and announced sanctimoniously that face veils ought to be removed in jobs where to face-to-face communication is required.

The dream of a neoliberal nirvana is coming to an end
John Harris, The Guardian
From the ubiquitous green issues, through ever-increasing queasiness about consumerism, to the basic matter of where we live, the most important debates to come will not be about how to extend the market, but how to rein it in. This is not necessarily a cause for unalloyed optimism: the parliamentary end of the argument will be contorted by the obligatory tributes to free enterprise, doubtless compromised by political cowardice, and hemmed in by lobbying from vested interests. But for those who have spent the past decade bemoaning the post-Thatcher settlement, these are propitious times: ones in which to push mainstream politicians rather than pull away from them.

Veil no bar to glory for Muslim women says Doha champion
Nick Mulvenney, The Guardian Sport
Winning the Asian Games 200 metres in a veil proves there are no barriers to Muslim women pursuing their sporting dreams, champion Ruqaya Al Ghasara said on Monday. The 24-year-old wore a hijab -- a scarf which covers the hair and neck -- along with leggings and long sleeves, but still outpaced her more scantily-clad rivals to win gold for Bahrain. "I want to say I'm very thankful for being a Muslim; it's a blessing," said the sports management student.  "Wearing conservative clothes has encouraged me. Wearing a veil proves that Muslim women face no obstacles and encourages them to participate in sport. This is a glory to all Muslim women."

Wednesday December 13 2006
Reid proposes terror department to create 'seamless intelligence'
Richard Ford and Philip Webster, The Times
The Prime Minister is studying proposals for an overhaul of the fight against terror, including the creation of a department of counter-terrorism. John Reid, the Home Secretary, is considering creating a Whitehall department focused solely on tackling all aspects of terrorism as part of a full review of Britain’s counter terror strategy. Tony Blair will study the proposals over the Christmas recess as the Government prepares new anti-terror laws. It is unlikely that new legislation will propose increasing the time that police can detain suspects to 90 days, as no evidence to support such a move has been presented to the Home Secretary.

Pinochet is gone, but his methods are still with us
Adnan Siddiqui and Victoria Brittain, The Guardian
Torture, secret prisons and disappearances: all feature prominently in the legacy of Augusto Pinochet. It is a matter of great regret that the former Chilean dictator - brought to power in a CIA-backed coup on September 11 1973 - avoided trial for gross abuses of human rights in his ravenous pursuit of power. But it is a matter of even greater regret that the same tools and the same sponsors are back in action today, with the same impunity, as part of the "war on terror" launched after September 11 2001.

Beyond the Law – Report  (Caged Prisoners)
Beyond the Law – List of Prisons (Caged Prisoners)
Beyond the Law – Map of Global Network (Caged Prisoners)

And check out:
EXCLUSIVE: Press Stand Accused of Illegal Activity (Ian Dale's Diary)

Tuesday December 12 2006
Routine and systematic torture is at the heart of America's war on terror
George Monbiot, The Guardian
After thousands of years of practice, you might have imagined that every possible means of inflicting pain had already been devised. But you should never underestimate the human capacity for invention. United States interrogators, we now discover, have found a new way of destroying a human being. Last week, defence lawyers acting for José Padilla, a US citizen detained as an "enemy combatant", released a video showing a mission fraught with deadly risk - taking him to the prison dentist. A group of masked guards in riot gear shackled his legs and hands, blindfolded him with black-out goggles and shut off his hearing with headphones, then marched him down the prison corridor.

Israel, Palestine, peace and apartheid
Jimmy Carter, The Guardian
The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations - but not in the United States. For the past 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticise policies of the Israeli government is due to the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices.

Laying down the law
Inayat Bunglawala, The Guardian CIF
"Secret courts imposing draconian Islamic justice are operating across Britain ... The scandal was outlined on BBC Radio 4's Law in Action programme which uncovered evidence that Muslims are using their own laws here." That particular revelation came courtesy of a front-page Daily Express story at the end of last month. Just in case you have some doubt at the back of your mind about the veracity of this news, here is an extract from a similar story in a more "upmarket" paper: "Islamic sharia law is gaining an increasing foothold in parts of Britain, a report claims ... the BBC Radio 4 programme Law in Action produced evidence yesterday that it was being used by some Muslims as an alternative to English criminal law." That was by Joshua Rozenberg...

And check out:
Blair speech provokes 'debate' on the Sun's website (Islamophobia Watch)
Anti-Nazis humiliate the BNP in Dagenham (Islamophobia Watch)

Monday December 11 2006
'No Santa' school teacher axed
Andrew parker, The Sun
A PRIMARY school sacked a woman teacher for telling heartbroken nine-year-olds there is no Father Christmas. Parents were furious when tearful youngsters went home saying they had also been taught elves and fairies did not exist either. The supply teacher, in her 30s, had her contract terminated after complaints to the head. Mum Amanda Piovesana, 30, said her daughter was shocked to be told: “You are old enough to know there is no Santa or fairies. If you ask your parents they will also say there is no such thing.”

At least in America they understand the notion of cultural difference
Gary Younge, The Guardian
A few weeks ago, Washington-based radio host Jerry Klein announced his own very radical plan to assuage public fears of terrorism. All Muslims, he suggested, should be branded with a crescent-shaped tattoo or be forced to wear a red armband. The phones rang off the hook. The first caller said Klein was "off his rocker". The next thought he was a genius. "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country," the caller said. "They are here to kill us."

Sunday December 10 2006
Racist: A damning report on our schools
Ian Griggs, The Independent on Sunday
A high-level official report has found a compelling case that Britain's schools are "institutionally racist", but ministers are refusing to accept that conclusion. The report, leaked to The Independent on Sunday, reveals "systemic racial discrimination" in the country's education system, with three times more black children being excluded than whites. The Government ordered a "priority review" into the issue last year. Its damning conclusions were delivered to ministers two months ago, but have not been released.
Report tells how black children are being discriminated against in schools (IoS)
'They were just waiting for Jesse to make a mistake' (IoS)
There is a way to help black boys perform better at school (IoS)

Christmas terror attack warning
Press Association/The Guardian Online
The terrorist threat facing the UK is "very high indeed", Home Secretary John Reid has said. He told the GMTV Sunday Programme the chances of an attempted attack over the Christmas period were "highly likely". Mr Reid said: "We know that the number of conspiracies of a major type are in the tens - 30 or round about that. "We ought to be very grateful to the people in the security services who work night and day to try to protect us. "We can never guarantee that we will get 100% success but we do get 100% effort from the security services." Mr Reid said the current UK terror assessment posted on the Government's Intelligence website was "severe" - the second highest level.

Britain stops talk of 'war on terror'
Jason Burke, The Observer
Cabinet ministers have been told by the Foreign Office to drop the phrase 'war on terror' and other terms seen as liable to anger British Muslims and increase tensions more broadly in the Islamic world. The shift marks a turning point in British political thinking about the strategy against extremism and underlines the growing gulf between the British and American approaches to the continuing problem of radical Islamic militancy. It comes amid increasingly evident disagreements between President George Bush and Tony Blair over policy in the Middle East.

Ian Blair cleared by inquiry into de Menezes shooting tragedy
Stewart Tendler, The Sunday Times
Sir Ian Blair has been cleared officially of any misconduct charges over his handling of the aftermath of the Stockwell shooting. Police sources say that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has received a letter from the Independent Police Complaints Commission telling him that there is no evidence that he misled the public over how Jean Charles de Menezes died. The Brazilian was killed by police marksmen in an Underground carriage at Stockwell station in South London on July 22 last year during a botched counter-terrorist operation the day after four bombers allegedly tried to blow up Underground trains and a bus.

And check out:
Scientologists get £270,000 subsidy (Sunday Telegraph)
Join the British Army and become a martyr, say Muslims (The Times, RNB)
Rod Liddle defends right to wear veil (Islamophobia Watch)
UK schools get guide to Islam (DAWN)
Treatment of Muslims 'echoes Jews under Nazis' (Islamophobia Watch)
£350,000 trips to boost the image of British Muslims (Islamophobia Watch)

Saturday December 09 2006
The Blitcon supremacists
Ziauddin Sardar
The names of the most famous contemporary writers have become international brands. When they speak, the world listens. And increasingly, they speak not just through their fiction, but also via newspaper opinion pages, influential magazines, television chat shows and literary festivals. Novelists are no longer just novelists - they are also global pundits shaping our opinions on everything from art, life and politics to civilisation as we know it.

You can swim, but you have to wear Muslim dress
Jaya Narain, Daily Mail
A council has sparked a row after it shut a swimming pool to hold Muslim-only sessions on a Sunday afternoon. The swimming sessions - which are for men only - are held for two hours every week at a leisure centre in London. Non-Muslims may swim during this time but only if they follow the strict dress code of swimming shorts that hide the navel and extend below the knee. Women are completely banned from attending but have their own special swimming sessions outside opening hours.

The Limits of Invasion Journalism
John Pilger, New Statesman/UK Watch
On 14 November, Bridget Ash wrote to the BBC’s Today programme asking why the invasion of Iraq was described merely as “a conflict”. She could not recall other bloody invasions reduced to “a conflict”. She received this reply: Dear Bridget You may well disagree, but I think there’s a big difference between the aggressive “invasions” of dictators like Hitler and Saddam and the “occupation”, however badly planned and executed, of a country for positive ends, as in the Coalition effort in Iraq. Yours faithfully, Roger Hermiston Assistant Editor, Today.

And check out:
Blair: 'Muslim may be PM' (The Sun)
bell hooks, and Feminism as an Ideology in the Making (Anthology blog)

Friday December 08 2006
Court suspends 'return Molly' order
Press Association, The Guardian
Pakistan's Supreme Court has temporarily suspended an earlier lower court order of returning a 12-year-old British schoolgirl to the UK. The Chief Supreme Court Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, issued the latest order in Islamabad on an appeal from the father of Molly Campbell, also known as Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, who arrived in the eastern city of Lahore in August without seeking permission from her mother. Since then, the girl's father and mother have been fighting a legal battle for her custody.

The Big Question: What's going on in Somalia, and is the Horn of Africa on the brink of war?
Anne Penketh, The Independent
Why is this an issue now? Because the UN security council unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday night providing for the dispatch of foreign peacekeepers to Somalia, which has triggered warnings that the move will spark all-out war and a regional conflagration. The peacekeepers were authorised to support the weak, unpopular transitional government which has international backing even though it only controls just one town in Somalia, Baidoa. The rest of the desperately poor Horn of Africa country, including the capital Mogadishu, is controlled by a loose coalition of Islamists known as the Union of Islamic Courts, whose fighters have swept across the country since June.

'Muslim only' pool outrage
Ben Ashford, The Sun
A council has sparked fury by virtually shutting a swimming pool on Sunday afternoons for “Muslim-only” sessions. All women are banned — and non-Muslim men may swim IF they follow the strict Islamic dress code of swim shorts that hide the navel and extend below the knee. Croydon Council in South London runs the sessions at Thornton Heath leisure centre between 4.45pm and 6.45pm.Similar slots are laid on for Muslim women outside opening hours, where bathers must be covered from the neck down to the ankle.

Blair to crack down on funding for religious groups
Hélène Mulholland and agencies, The Guardian
Religious groups will have to prove their commitment to integration before being awarded taxpayers' cash, Tony Blair said today, as he reignited the row over Muslim headscarves. The prime minister said it was "plain common sense" that teachers should have to remove them in the classroom, as he announced a crackdown on funding for religious and racial groups. Mr Blair warned that public money had been too easily handed out to organisations "tightly bonded around religious, racial or ethnic identities".

The phoney war on Christmas
Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian G2
Luton council, we are told, has banned people from celebrating Christmas. Birmingham has renamed the season Winterval. A Reading man has been told to take his decorations down. There's only one problem with the 'PC campaign' against Christmas - it's pure nonsense.

And check out:
Khadija Ravat and the niqab's good name (Indigo Jo blog)
Khadija says Channel 4 didn't tell her she'd be in competition with the Queen (Islamophobia Watch)
'Funds crackdown on religious groups' (Islamophobia Watch)
'Don't come here if you don't like it' (islamophobia Watch)
Conform to our society, says PM (BBC News Online)
Blair outlines curbs on grants to religious groups (The Times)
New York Times joins slander campaign against Carter book (Electronic Intifada)

Thursday December 07 2006
Malaysia seeks to avoid faith row
Jonathan Kent , BBC News Online
Malaysia's cabinet has moved to defuse a row over a body claimed for burial by both the dead man's Christian family and the local Islamic authorities. The man had converted to Islam when he married. He went back to Christianity later - but in Malaysia only Islamic courts can let Muslims change faith. Last year, an Islamic court ruled in favour of the religious authorities in a similar case that upset non-Muslims. The government now says its most senior civil lawyer will take on the case.

Exclusive: veiled Khadija Prefers British Tradition
Rod Chaytor, Daily Mirror
THE veiled Muslim woman signed up by Channel 4 to do their Christmas Day message will not be watching herself on TV - she will be watching the Queen. Khadija Ravat's six-minute address will go out at 3pm, exactly the same time as the Queen's annual broadcast. But yesterday, the 33-year-old teacher described herself as a patriotic Brit who has no intention of tuning into C4's alternative Christmas Day message. She said: "Believe me, I'm going to be watching the Queen's speech. I like being British, being British has so much to it that can be shared by so many people."

Muslim women angry at views being ignored, study shows
Lucy Ward, The Guardian
The study, the most comprehensive attempt to represent the views of British Muslim women, found that women believe they are also widely misrepresented in the media, and end up as "pawns" in national debates on issues such as dress codes. While the media is guilty of stereotyping women as oppressed and submissive, fuelling Islamophobia and even violence, the Muslim community itself silences women at national and local level, according to those joining a national "listening exercise" run by the Muslim Women's Network and Women's National Commission, both of which advise the government.

Winners and losers
Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian CIF
In the summer, the publication of Amartya Sen's book, Identity and Violence, was greeted with delight by many reviewers and commentators. The Grand Old Man of economics threw his huge moral authority into the fevered debate about multiculturalism and argued that it was a huge mistake for British government policy to have cultivated the rise of religious identity. He was promptly adopted by the lobby of vociferous aggressive secularists who regard all faith in the public sphere as evidence of some sinister plot. Sen promoted the idea of multiple identities - we all have them, he writes, and cited himself as an academic, Indian, father and husband.

Thierry on tolerant Britain
Dominic Mohan, The Sun
Theirry Henry reckons Britain is one of the most tolerant nations on earth and marvels at this country’s attitudes to race and religion. The Arsenal striker believes that an individual’s right to display religious symbols such as crucifixes, turbans and veils at work here means that we are more accepting of other cultures. In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Thierry says: “Sometimes you just need to accept other people’s thoughts, desires or religion. “In France, it is different. I won’t say whether France is more or less racist than England but what I like here is that you see someone coming from India working with a turban on."

And check out:
Ministers to ban creationist teaching aids in science lessons (The Guardian)

Wednesday December 06 2006
C4 attacked for Muslim message
Colin Robertson, The Sun
Channel 4 was blasted last night after revealing its Christmas Day message will be delivered by a British Muslim woman in a full veil. She has been identified only as Khadija, a Zimbabwe-born lecturer in Islamic studies. It is understood she will speak about the growing influence of different faiths in Britain — and possibly about her views on the veil. A C4 spokesman said: “This year has been dominated by issues of race and religious identity. We thought it was appropriate.” He added Khadija will wish viewers a Merry Christmas. But the Christian Institute said: “This is just what you expect from Channel 4, which has shown contempt for Christianity and Christian values.”

The 'alternative' Christmas message
Mark Jagasia, Daily Express
Channel 4 has sparked fury by planning an “alternative” Christmas Day message delivered by a Muslim woman in a veil. Radical Khadija Ravat, who lectures on Islam, will appear on its screens while the Queen is giving her traditional afternoon speech on the other channels. Mrs Ravat’s talk is expected to focus on the heated debate about the veil following the recent case of teacher Aishah Azmi losing her battle to wear it in the classroom. Evangelical lobby group Christian Voice’s Stephen Green said the alternative message will “put people’s backs up”.  He added: “The niqab is a veil of separation between Muslims and the indigenous Christian community. This will expose multi-culturalism for what it is – a bias against the Christian population.”

De Menezes officers 'lied about shooting'
Stewart Tendler, The Times
The police marksmen who killed Jean Charles de Menezes may have lied about the death of the Brazilian during the botched operation, the High Court was told yesterday. They had claimed that Mr de Menezes was wearing a bulky jacket when, in fact, he had on a denim one. They also claimed that they had shouted a warning, but none of the other passengers on the London Underground train heard them. The details of the policemen’s claims were revealed as the dead man’s family began an application for a judicial review into the decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute anyone over the shooting in July 2005.

And check out:
British Muslims urge Indian Govt to hand over Babri Mosque site to Muslim control (Council of Indian Muslims UK Press release/Muslim News)
A microcosm of Arab malaise (Brian Whitaker, Guardian CIF)

Tuesday December 05 2006
There has to be equality
Ismail Patel, The Guardian
In recent months the media have reported on the recruitment of British Jews to fight in the Israeli army, now in its 40th year of occupation of Palestinian territory in defiance of international law and UN resolutions. Some are intending to emigrate; others to return to Britain after serving in the Israeli army. But we have not had a word of concern from the British government. In the Muslim community, however, the question is widely raised as to how British citizens can travel to another country and fight in its army of illegal occupation without any repercussions. Would that be the case if, say, a young Muslim or Briton of Palestinian origin travelled to the occupied Palestinian territories - let alone occupied Iraq - to protect his or her homeland or co-religionists?

Migrants face new 'Britishness' test
By Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph
Tests in the English language and the British way of life will be compulsory from next year for foreigners wanting to settle here, the Government said yesterday. It will bring long-term immigrants into line with people who seek UK citizenship, who already have to sit the tests. Last year 180,000 people were granted settlement to stay. Some go on to seek British nationality but others may choose to retain their own while staying permanently. Liam Byrne, the immigration minister, said: "It is essential that migrants wishing to live in the UK permanently recognise that there are responsibilities that go with this. "Having a good grasp of English is essential in order for them to play a full role in society and properly integrate into our communities."

Non-believers
John Crace, The Guardian
There's nothing like a good row to help you take your eye off the ball. While scientists and educationists have recently wasted a lot of time and energy engaging with a literal interpretation of the Old Testament, a more serious fault line in the schools system has been somewhat glossed over. It's the mainstream faiths - not the minority religious extremes - that divide headteachers. The latest findings of the Headspace survey of primary and secondary headteachers, carried out by Education Guardian and EdComs, and administered by ICM, shows that many heads are deeply concerned about the effects of faith schools on the education system.

And check out:
Sisters, mothers, martyrs (The Guardian G2)
Race crime backlash after 7/7 did not materialise, admits DPP (Daily Mail)
Dead Russian spy to be buried as a Muslim (The Times, RNB)
Channel 4's alternative Christmas message to feature broadcaster in veil (Daily Mail)
Channel 4 reopens veil debate at Christmas (The Guardian)

Monday December 04 2006
Policies 'aid Muslim extremism'
BBC News Online
British Muslims are being driven into the arms of violent extremists by official attempts to engage with them after the 7 July bombs, a study claims. Policies since the attacks in London have "driven a wedge" between Muslims and the wider community rather than isolate extremists, the report says. The study, by think tank Demos, accused ministers of failing to engage Muslims over British foreign policy in Iraq. It called for "community relations to be at the heart of security policy". The report - partly funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government - described attempts to involve Muslims in the policy-making process as "rushed, conducted on the government's terms, failing to break away from 'the usual suspects', and with little follow through".

Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites
Robert Tait, The Guardian
Iran yesterday shut down access to some of the world's most popular websites. Users were unable to open popular sites including Amazon.com and YouTube following instructions to service providers to filter them. Similar edicts have been issued against Wikipedia, the internet encyclopaedia, IMDB.com, an online film database, and the New York Times site. Attempts to open the sites are met with a page reading: "The requested page is forbidden." The clampdown was ordered by senior judiciary officials in the latest phase of a campaign that has seen high-speed broadband facilities banned in an attempt to impede "corrupting" foreign films and music.

Integration and terrorism have nothing to do with each other
Madeleine Bunting, The Guardian
Tony Blair has an important speech to make later this week. It will probably be his last opportunity to influence decisively the public debate on integration and diversity that has so dominated his time in office. Since 1997, race and immigration have steadily climbed the list of voters' priorities. They have now, according to Mori polls, arrived in the top slot, of more concern even than health or education. Tangled up in this debate is a string of emotive issues, from racism and extremist terrorism to veils and the role of faith in a secular society. Over the past near-decade, New Labour has zigzagged its way through the territory; early achievements such as the Macpherson inquiry have been lost from view in a wave of anxiety and fear that followed 9/11.

And check out:
Accept people's terrorism fears, says Rai (Indymedia UK)
The Phelps factor (Joseph Stiglitz, The Guardian)

Sunday December 03 2006
Ministers 'failing to reach Muslims'
Jamie Doward, The Observer
Official attempts by Whitehall departments to engage with the Muslim community following the 7/7 bombings are slated in a government-backed report published tomorrow, which says that conflicting messages are being sent out. Bringing it Home, a report by the think tank Demos, which has been part funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, claims: 'In the meeting rooms of Whitehall, ministers were assuring Muslim leaders of the need for partnership, but in press briefings they were talking of the need for Muslims to "get serious" about terrorism, spy on their children and put up with inconveniences in the greater good of national security.'

The hidden truth of the veil: it's all politics
Jenny McCartney, Sunday Telegraph
The most notable discovery last week from a survey of British attitudes to Muslim women in full veil was a morass of confusion and unease. One in three respondents thought that women should be banned from publicly wearing the niqab, which conceals everything but the eyes; just over half thought not; and one in ten didn't know. Only 41 per cent of people supported a general ban on the niqab in the workplace, which rose to 53 per cent if the workplace was a school or courtroom. And 61 per cent backed a ban at passport -control, which seems understandable unless our airport officials are to be trained to identify travellers by their irises alone.

Church bookshops stop selling Koran
Christopher Morgan, The Times
BRITAIN’S oldest chain of church bookshops is to remove the Koran from its shelves because it believes it is “inimical” to Christianity. The decision not to stock any non-Christian holy text has been taken by SPCK Bookshops, formerly part of the 308-year-old Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In practice, the Koran is the only text affected because those of other religions such as Judaism and Hinduism were rarely stocked by the shops, which are located near many British cathedrals or in their precincts.

Prisoners of Sex
By Negar Azmi
Mostafa Bakry has a knack for reinventing himself. He is an old-school Arab nationalist, newspaper editor and parliamentarian, and has managed to keep himself in the middle of the Egyptian political scene for almost two decades. He rails against decadence, against corruption — anything that can get the otherwise sleepy Egyptian public excited. This past July, he took on the issue of homosexuality, introducing a motion in Parliament calling for censorship of several scenes in a popular new film, “The Yacoubian Building,” and denouncing the racier parts of the movie as “spreading obscenity and debauchery.”

And check out:
Less Christianity, more Islam and Hinduism, schools ordered (Daily Mail)

Friday December 01 2006
Pope calls for freedom of worship
BBC News Online
The Pope has wrapped up his trip to Turkey by saying Mass in a Catholic cathedral in Istanbul, and issuing a plea for freedom of religion in Turkey. "The Church wishes to impose nothing on anyone, and merely asks to live in freedom," Benedict XVI said. The Pope used the trip to try to mend fences after offending some Muslims with comments he made in September. Many Turkish papers said he succeeded, with his moment of prayer in Istanbul's Blue Mosque hailed a "great gesture". Turkey's liberal newspaper Milliyet called it "The Istanbul Peace", while Vatan declared: "History Written in Istanbul." Hurriyet, one of Turkey's most influential papers, called Benedict "the congenial pope".

"We didn't conceive of City Circle as a mass movement"
Zahed Amanullah, Alt Muslim
For the past seven years, the City Circle in London has provided a forum for Muslims and others to explore issues dealing with identity and politics in British society and elsewhere in the Muslim world. In that time, the group has gained a reputation for venturing where few Muslim organisations dare. When the BBC aired a documentary critical of the predominant British Muslim organisation (the Muslim Council of Britain), the City Circle invited the producers to sit face to face with MCB representatives to air their differences. When the MCB made the decision to boycott Holocaust Memorial Day, the City Circle responded with their own commemoration.

Young and feisty girls who choose to wear the veil
Elaine Williams, TES
For the past two or three years, a small but growing number of Turton’s female Muslim sixth formers have chosen to wear the niqab – which covers the face – and staff have chosen to respect their choice. These students are not retiring violets. Indeed, they are among the feistiest students in the sixth form. Like many young women who have taken up the niqab in the UK, they wear it proudly, an outward sign, they say, of their deep faith, and a statement of their cultural identity.

And check out:
'Shocking secrets of sharia courts'  (Islamophobia Watch)
Home Office staff can join Islamic extremists (Daily Mail)
Muslim law reaches Britain (Rolled Up Trousers blog)
In U.S., fear and distrust of Muslims runs deep (Reuters)