UK: Muslim airline pilot ’sacked because of religion’ Via Asian Image : A Muslim airline pilot who was sacked after links were discovered to two suspected terrorists told an employment tribunal today that an “air of suspicion” had been created around him because of his race and religion.
UK: Why British Muslim women struggle to find a marriage partner Via the Guardian : First, there has always been a tradition for British men originating from the Indian subcontinent to marry women from their country of origin. Families encourage their sons to do so for a host of reasons, including the cultural expectation that girls from “back home” will stay with and look after their in-laws. The second trend is for Muslim men to marry “women of the book” (Christian or Jewish women), which is permissible in Islam
UK: Imams must reach out to youth, says cleric Via ENInews : Imams at British mosques have let down a generation of young Muslims by failing to reach young people who sometimes end up in prison, Ibrahim Mogra, chair of the mosque and community affairs committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said. Following the publication of a report showing that the number of Muslims in British prisons has rocketed over the last 20 years, Mogra told ENInews in an interview on 11 January that most Muslim clergy and mosques have finally realized that in houses of worship they are preaching only to the converted
UK: ‘Muslims are not betraying Islam in embracing liberal democracy’ Via the Guardian (by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol): It is far better to propose Islam than impose it, for if there is no liberty there can be no genuine religiosity Last week, during a book tour in London, I spoke to a large group of British Muslims on Islam and liberty. A few of the questions that I received from the audience indicated why discussion on this topic is much needed.
UK: Study of representation of Muslims in the press Via ENGAGE (h/t The LibertyPhile ): Academics at Lancaster University have completed an ESRC financed research project on ‘The representation of Muslims in the British press 1998-2009′. The researchers analysed over 200,000 media articles written on Islam and Muslim over the eleven year period.
Scotland: Several people involved in Stockholm bombing, say Scottish investigators The Swedish Security Service still think he was alone. Via the Local : Taimour Abdulwahab called a mobile telephone in Iraq the same day that he blew himself up in Stockholm, and received 60,000 kronor ($8,800) from backers in Scotland, according to British prosecutors. The UK authorities are investigating 31-year-old Nasserdine Menni, who is suspected of financing the attack and was arrested in Scotland in March.
Brussels: North Africans ambushed tourists, says Scot tourist Via VRT : Yesterday, flandersnews.be reported that there were a total of four violent incidents on the Brussels metro on Saturday evening. One of the incidents quoted was a fight involving a group of British tourists and North African youths.
Birmingham: Seven arrested in counter-terror raids Via AFP : West Midlands Police said on Monday they had arrested six men and a woman in Birmingham as part of a major pre-planned counter-terrorism operation targeting Islamic extremists.
Edinburgh Festival: Imran Yusuf, Muslim who has faith in this country Via the Telegraph : Spending an hour in the company of Imran Yusuf – whether on stage or in person – can achieve the near-impossible in these dark days of riots, double-dip recessions, terrorism and global unrest: it can make you feel happy, positive, and ready to face the future. Yusuf is one of the best things to have happened to British comedy in ages.
UK: Lawsuit says language immigration law discriminates against Asians, Arabs Via the Independent : A new law compelling immigrants to be able to speak English to join their spouses living in the UK is “blatantly racially discriminatory”, a court has heard. (…) Manjit Gill QC, representing Rashida Chapti, 54, a British citizen, and her husband Vali Chapti, 57, who wants to join her in the UK, told the High Court sitting in Birmingham that the law deliberately aims to keep out Arabs and those of Asian origin.