All entries by this author

Relax and enjoy it

Jan 15th, 2008 7:23 pm | By

The bishop of Oxford is ‘personally very happy for the mosque to call the faithful to prayer in East Oxford’. I don’t suppose he lives there, does he? Or does he.

“Faith is a very important factor in the lives of 80 per cent of the world’s population and a public expression of that faith is both natural and reasonable…It is good that we should be reminded of the faithfulness of many members of the community.”

Is it? Why? And even if it is, we get reminded quite a bit already, don’t we?

“It is natural that Muslim communities will gather in a particular area and what matters is that we demonstrate the kind of respect that is the

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Aziza Abdel-Halim Plans Coalition to End Abuse *

Jan 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Some victims felt helpless because when they sought the advice of their imam he sided with the abuser. … Read the rest



MPs to Probe Abuse and ‘Honour’ Crime *

Jan 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Labour MP says the voices of victims of forced marriage and ‘honour’ crimes are not heard often enough.… Read the rest



Fariba Amini on Human Rights in Iran *

Jan 15th, 2008 | Filed by

The Islamic regime has trampled on its citizens and insulted the intellect and wisdom of its own people.… Read the rest



Bishop of Oxford Urges Relaxation and Respect *

Jan 15th, 2008 | Filed by

‘It is good that we should be reminded of the faithfulness of many members of the community.’… Read the rest



Citroen Apologizes for Mao Ad ‘Insult’ *

Jan 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Mao is still revered despite policies which ended in the deaths of millions. Nobody’s perfect.… Read the rest



The Cosmopolitan Possibility

Jan 15th, 2008 | By Paul Sikander, introduction by Gina Khan

Gina Khan would like to introduce Paul Sikander, the author of this article. A lawyer who grew up in London and the West Midlands, he has also observed the rise of Islamism in Birmingham at close quarters over the last twenty years.

As British Muslim women, we struggle from within to raise our voices and to be heard, we are looking through bullet-proof glass windows as we watch the MCB and other bodies manipulate the media or the government; we never get consulted. It is encouraging to find another voice who breaks his silence today on Islamists and the hypocrisy, control and Islamism that Muslim women and children can be subjected to in Britain. I hope every governing body in … Read the rest



Past Imperfect *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Charlie Wilson helped to bring down a project of secular modernisation. Clever.… Read the rest



Brian Whitaker on Human Rights and Universalism *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

There is no room for selectively excluding some humans on the pretext of local circumstances or cultural norms.… Read the rest



Brian Whitaker on HRW and Honour Killings *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Many governments that sign up to treaties such as CEDAW face resistance from conservatives at home.… Read the rest



Loudspeaker Plan for Oxford Mosque Not Popular *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Neighbours think it might be a tad noisy and intrusive. And theological.… Read the rest



Gina Khan Interview Part 4 *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Inayat Bunglawala is a good example of what I mean by the extreme version of Islam.… Read the rest



Gina Khan Interview Part 3 *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Islamists would disable half the body of Islam by reversing the rights of women.… Read the rest



Steven Pinker on the Moral Instinct *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Who is most moral: Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, or Norman Borlaug?… Read the rest



Gina Khan Interview Part 2 *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

The first time my husband slapped me after I questioned him he said ”Don’t question my authority – in our religion you are not allowed. I’m your husband.’… Read the rest



Westminster Journal Interviews Gina Khan *

Jan 14th, 2008 | Filed by

Pain figures in the lives of many Muslim women because of accepted Muslim social practices. … Read the rest



Fauziya Kassindja ran away

Jan 13th, 2008 3:50 pm | By

Kpalime, Togo, 1997: Hajia Zuwera Kassindja apologized to her late husband’s cousin, the patriarch of his family, for having helped her daughter Fauziya run away to America to escape having her genitals cut off. She had given her daughter nearly all of her money to run away.

”What the mother did pains me a lot,” the patriarch, Mouhamadou Kassindja, said in a scolding tone…”She is my brother’s wife. It is for me to take care of my brother’s child since he is no longer alive. She acted as though the child were hers. She and the child made the laws. That is why the child did not want to follow the customs.”

She acted as though the child were hers … Read the rest



The Huckster’s Artful Dodging on Evolution *

Jan 13th, 2008 | Filed by

It is unacceptable for a presidential candidate to advocate a clearly unconstitutional educational policy.… Read the rest



Defiant Levant Republishes Motoons *

Jan 13th, 2008 | Filed by

Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada filed a complaint.… Read the rest



Ezra Levant to Alberta Human Rights Commission *

Jan 13th, 2008 | Filed by

The commission is acting as a censor. That’s human rights?… Read the rest