Dilly Hussain recaps the week’s biggest headlines, sharing his thoughts on the stories which affect Muslims across the world.
The Muslim world remains in chaos, whether it’s the ongoing civil war in Syria, the witch-hunt against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the political instability in Bangladesh and Pakistan, or the diminished hope of Arab Spring revolutionaries. You name any of the fifty-something Muslim countries, there is some sort of fitna taking place.
In the West, the Ummah continues to struggle with the ferocious media and political attack against her core beliefs, ideas and identity. And what better way to achieve this than to demonise the leaders who truly represent us?
Before I move on to the week’s headlines, just a reminder that if you’re planning to relocate to France and you have children, think again. There are plans to ban halal meat and pork alternatives for Muslim school pupils, and to quote the leader of France’s National Front who won local elections in 11 towns, Marine Le Pen: “eat pork or starve”… how considerate of the Islamophobic airhead!
On the subject of children, any one-year olds who are able to throw their dummy or throw a ball further than a foot, please refrain from travelling to Pakistan where you are more likely to be charged with murder, threatening behaviour towards police and interfering with state affairs than being scouted to join the nursery cricket team.
The irony of the land where a nine-month old baby is charged for attempted murder, whilst America is given free reign to drone Muslims.
Operation Trojan Horse
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The British media has once again blitzed the ignorant masses with the concerns highlighted in the “Trojan Horse” document – an alleged Asian invasion by the Muslim nation of Birmingham schools. What a creation by the media sensation…the headlines were nearly as bad as my lyrics, in case you didn’t notice.
Park View School was one of many Birmingham schools under investigation in light of the Trojan Horse claims of an Islamist takeover. But their Director and Governor, Dave Hughes (a devout Christian) said his board did not receive “a single complaint about extremism or radicalism” in 15 years.
My good Facebook friend and brother in faith, Yusuf Patel of SRE Islamic put it in a nutshell: “Liberal minded parents may convince a school to change the way a particular part of the curriculum is taught, influence the choice of Modern Foreign Language (MFL) or even arrange an educational trip to a foreign country, but if Muslim parents in a state school, comprising close to 100% Muslim pupils opt for Arabic to be taught, a prayer room established, a change to the uniform policy to accommodate the Islamic dress code or plan a foreign trip to Makkah, we are told this is a Muslim takeover and the Department for Education and Ofsted call for an investigation.” Need I say more?
The demonisation of Muslim figures continues
Two prominent Muslim figures were attacked in the media earlier this week. The Telegraph labelled the former chief media adviser of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Dr Imran Waheed, as an “extremist” and deemed him unfit to work for the NHS because of his views on the Caliphate and Shariah law. Whilst unsubstantiated media attacks on HT are nothing new (hence many failed attempts to ban them on any legal grounds by Labour and the Tories), the unrelated link between the esteemed psychiatrist and his political/religious beliefs was just ridiculous.
But the most surprising of the two victims of the Islamophobic media onslaught was Tariq Ramadan. Yes! The “progressive” Tariq Ramadan who is a member of the Foreign Office’s Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief which is chaired by Baroness Warsi and a former member of Tony Blair’s post 7/7 task force. The Oxford University professor was attacked for his affiliation to the Muslim Brotherhood for being the grandson of the group’s founder, Hassan al-Banna (rh). I mean honestly, if figures like Ramadan who are trusted and chummy with the establishment aren’t safe from the state’s wrath, then who is?
So you can now add Tariq Ramadan and Imran Waheed on the ever increasing list (Moazzam Begg, Sheikh Haitham, Hamza Tzortzis, Mufti Ibn Adam, Ibrahim Hewitt, Murtaza Khan) of prominent Muslim figures that have been criminalised for simply being Muslim by the mainstream media and right wing neo-con think-tanks. If you think this onslaught does not affect you (yet) because your group/party/sheikh is pro-democracy, progressive and is not critical of British foreign policy, think again – think Tariq Ramadan.
British Citizenship
On Tuesday, ministers lost a vote in the House of Lords over plans to allow “terror suspects” to be stripped of their citizenship. The government was defeated by 242 votes to 180 as peers rejected planned changes to immigration laws.
The likes of the “Wicked Witch of the West” (Theresa May) wanted the power to remove the citizenship of a naturalised Briton acting in a way “seriously prejudicial” to the UK’s national interests. But peers said this was an approach used by “dictators and tyrants”…which this government certainly is in its own “democratic” way.
I am sure that we will not hear the last of this, but in the meanwhile, what about British Jews who leave to fight for the IDF to murder Palestinians, then steal and occupy their land? Sorry, how silly of me to suggest or even think that this equates to a Muslim leaving to defend his brethren in Syria against a brutal dictator.
Well that’s all for this week, I kindly ask everyone to make dua that Liverpool win their remaining five games and for someone to buy Tory MP Sajid Javid a nice wig as an early Eid (he’s definitely more of a Christamas or Hanukkah type) present to keep his head warm because according to him “Israel is one of the best countries”…said no born Muslim turned part-time Christian ever.
@DillyHussain88
