(BBC) Two Tory councillors have quit after being accused of sharing Islamophobic posts on social media. Len Milner and Chris Smith, who sit on East Staffordshire council, “liked” a cartoon posted on Facebook depicting a mock beheading of Labour’s Sadiq Khan. Mr […]
(BBC) The home secretary cannot be barred from deporting a failed asylum seeker whose daughter would be at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) if taken abroad, a senior judge decided. The High Court heard the woman, who has links to Bahrain […]
(BBC) The Dutch husband of Shamima Begum, who joined the Islamic State group in Syria in 2015 aged 15, has said he wants her to return to the Netherlands with him. Yago Riedijk and Ms Begum married days after she arrived inside […]
(BBC) A shooting range in Merseyside has been criticised for using images of IS bride Shamima Begum as a target. Labour MP Angela Eagle said she was “disapproving” of the use of living people’s faces by Ultimate Airsoft Range in Wallasey. Ms […]
(BBC) All children must learn about same-sex couples regardless of their religious background, the head of Ofsted says. Hundreds of parents protested outside a Birmingham school against it teaching pupils about same-sex couples and gender identity. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told […]
(BBC) The UK’s largest teachers’ union has warned government not to introduce measures that would make teaching staff criminally responsible for failing to report the forced marriage of a pupil. A Home Office consultation is exploring such proposals for teachers, health workers […]
(BBC) Shamima Begum — the schoolgirl who fled London to join the Islamic State group in Syria — has said she never wanted to be an IS “poster girl.” Ms Begum, who has just given birth, said she now wants the UK’s forgiveness and […]
(BBC) Brunel University in London is hoping to encourage more Muslim women to play sport by launching a sports hijab. A 2017 study by Sports England found just 18% of Muslim women participate in regular sport, against 30% of the UK’s female […]
(BBC) Female genital mutilation (FGM) is increasingly being performed on babies and infants in the UK, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told. FGM expert and barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman said it was “almost impossible to detect” as the girls were not […]
(BBC) The UK has begun returning migrants, who cross the Channel in small boats, to France in a bid to deter others from doing the same, the Home Office said. On Thursday, a small number of failed asylum seekers, who landed on […]
(BBC) Potential victims in areas where forced marriage is prevalent are unaware it is a crime, a charity has said. While legislation has seen a rise in people reporting concerns, campaigners said there was a “worrying split” with some victims and families […]
(BBC) A former postman has admitted to spreading terrorist information, on the first day of his trial. Sajid Idris, 36, was sentenced to 21 months, suspended for two years, at Kingston Crown Court. In July 2017, Idris, 36, from the Grangetown area […]
(BBC) A man who planned to drive a van into 100 people in London was working with a government de-radicalisation programme at the time, a court has heard. Islamic State (IS) supporter Lewis Ludlow pleaded guilty last August to planning the Oxford […]
(BBC) A terror suspect arrested over a “frenzied” knife attack on three people in Manchester has been detained under mental health laws. The 25-year-old is being held on suspicion of attempted murder after the stabbings on New Year’s Eve at the city’s […]
(BBC) The stabbing of three people — including a police officer — in Manchester is being treated as a terrorist investigation, police say. A man, aged 25, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the attack on New Year’s Eve at […]
(BBC) The UK and France are to step up joint patrols and increase surveillance to tackle a rise in the number of migrants trying to reach Britain in small boats. Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who has cut short a family holiday, agreed […]
(BBC) Thousands of demonstrators in Brussels have marched against a UN migration pact, adopted in Marrakesh last week. Flemish right-wing parties called the march, which took place near major EU institutions, amid fears the pact could lead to an increase in immigration. […]
(BBC) Criminalising forced marriage could stop victims from speaking up if their parents are locked up, campaigners say. While legislation sends a “strong message,” a charity working with victims said it also scared off others. Rubie Marie, 35, who was forced to […]
(BBC) Germany’s Interior Ministry has said it regrets serving pork sausage at a conference on Islam in Berlin earlier this week. The ministry said the food selection had been designed for the “diverse religious attendance” at the German Islam Conference in Berlin. […]
(BBC) People smugglers are telling migrants that they must enter the UK before “the borders shut properly” after Brexit, a BBC South East investigation found. More than 100 people, the majority claiming to be Iranian, have entered British waters in boats this […]
(BBC) Jewish and Muslim community leaders have joined forces in a “landmark” challenge to hate crime in Scotland. The Muslim Council of Scotland and the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities said they were determined to address Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. They have published […]
(BBC) More than 100 migrants, claiming to be Iranian, have attempted the dangerous journey by small boat to the UK in the past three weeks. Why? On 23 November, shortly before sunrise, eight migrants were found clinging to a dinghy in choppy […]
(BBC) Eight suspected migrants have been rescued from a boat in the Channel, the French authorities have said. Helicopters and coastal patrols were sent to find them along with a British RNLI crew after a French team raised the alarm at about […]
(BBC) Five suspected migrants have been picked up from a small boat by French authorities off Audinghen in northern France. A statement from the Prefecture Maritime de la Manche said a call for medical assistance raised the alert and a fishing vessel […]
(BBC) Three British imams have joined calls for the UK to offer asylum to Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman recently acquitted of blasphemy. It comes after former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and other politicians, urged the government to help her. Ms […]
(BBC) A failed asylum seeker is facing removal from the UK despite a family judge ruling her nine-year-old daughter would be at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) if she goes. The High Court heard the woman, who has links to Bahrain […]
(BBC) The use of pork gelatine in three vaccines used by the NHS has been branded “disappointing” by the Vegetarian Society. Chief executive Lynne Elliot added that the use of animal ingredients in medicines is “upsetting.” Porcine gelatine is derived from pigs […]
(BBC) Jailed Islamist Fouad Belkacem, whose group Sharia4Belgium sent dozens of jihadists to Syria, has been stripped of his Belgian citizenship and faces deportation to Morocco. The appeal court in Antwerp ruled that he had fallen seriously short of his duties as […]
(BBC) Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has had his assets frozen, days before he is due to leave prison. The 51-year-old, who was jailed for five-and-a-half years for inviting support for the Islamic State group, is expected to be released on Friday. The […]
(BBC) A 25-year-old man who slapped a French woman earlier this year has been sentenced to six months in prison. Marie Laguerre said the man lashed out at her after she told him to stop harassing her on a Paris street. Her […]
(BBC) Security concerns have been raised about the imminent release from prison of the radical preacher Anjem Choudary and other supporters of the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun. About a dozen followers are out or will be soon, as restrictive terror protection orders […]
(BBC) Sara Alfageeh, from Boston, USA, has always loved comics. As a child, she used to “run home from the library with stacks of them.” But the recent depiction of one character annoyed her so much she chose to take matters into […]
(BBC) A mosque where the Manchester Arena bomber worshipped denies encouraging people to “fight in any military struggle” following a BBC report. A sermon by Imam Mustafa Graf at Didsbury Mosque in 2016 called for the support of fighters in Syria, according […]
(BBC) A sermon at the mosque where the Manchester bomber worshipped called for the support of armed jihadist fighters, according to two Muslim scholars. An imam at Didsbury Mosque in December 2016 was recorded praying for “victory” for “our brothers and sisters […]
(BBC) Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been accused of Islamophobia after saying Muslim women wearing burkas “look like letter boxes.” He said he was against bans on face-covering veils in public places, in his Telegraph column, but added that they looked […]
(BBC) Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson has been released on bail after winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding. The 35-year-old admitted the charge and was jailed in May for filming outside Leeds Crown Court during a […]
(BBC) Northern Ireland’s biggest health trust has seen 17 cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in just over nine months. Belfast Health and Social Care Trust confirmed via Freedom of Information that the cases were identified between April 2017 to 15 January […]
(BBC) Australia’s first openly gay imam, Nur Warsame, counsels Muslims around the world not to feel shame about sexuality. Unable to travel due to security concerns, he set up Marhaba — an online prayer group — five years ago. He tells the […]
(BBC) The Austrian ambassador to Israel has downplayed reports of a plan by an Austrian state to require Jews and Muslims to register before they can buy kosher and halal meat. Martin Weiss said politicians in Lower Austria would work with religious […]
(BBC) One of the men accused of killing a jeweller has said a co-defendant entered the victim’s shop with a gun hidden beneath a burka. Ramniklal Jogiya was abducted near his Leicester shop on 24 January, with his body found in Stoughton […]
(BBC) Judges have delayed their decision in an appeal by far-right activist Tommy Robinson against his conviction and jailing for contempt of court. The Court of Appeal expects a judgement on the former English Defence League leader to be made by the […]
(BBC) The Conservatives have suspended a council by-election candidate following “unacceptable comments” on social media. Laurel Ellis was picked for the Gurnos ward on Merthyr Tydfil council. She had shared posts critical of Islam and showing Theresa May in Muslim religious dress, […]
(BBC) The former leader of the English Defence League (EDL) is to appeal against his 13-month prison sentence. Tommy Robinson, from Bedfordshire, admitted contempt of court after filming outside Leeds Crown Court during a trial in May. A judge told him his […]
(BBC) A “bullying” imam who “assaulted many children” and left them “writhing in pain” has been jailed. Abdul Rauf, of Sussex Street, Rochdale, attacked two boys, aged 10 and 12, at a mosque study class in Greater Manchester in 2017, police said. […]
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