Clerics & Preachers

Ecquevilly: The ‘quiet Salafist’ town resisting French integration While there are signs of hope in this commune west of Paris, a radical preacher’s influence lingers

(National-UAE) Barely 30 kilometres from the renowned Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, France’s perpetual search for harmonious relations with its post-colonial Muslim population has its own reflection in the troubled recent history of one small town. On first encounter, […]

Arts & Entertainment

Comedian Eshaan Akbar on trying to highlight the humour in Islam 'There’s no representation on TV of Muslims having a laugh. There isn’t anything out there that allows white British people to see Muslims just being normal,' he says

(National-UAE) Most comedians have to put up with a fair degree of heckling in their careers, but British comedian Eshaan Akbar has received violent threats for his new stand-up routine at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In Prophet Like It’s Hot, the 34-year-old […]

Government & Politics

UK commission to probe output of ‘intellectual’ extremists Head of counter-extremism body tells the National she will make decisions after major research project

(National-UAE) A UK government-appointed body is to consider new laws to tackle increasingly professional extremist groups that harness the power of social media to disguise divisive messages as mainstream political campaigns. Sara Khan, the group’s head, cited the work of the international […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Campaigners decry attack on Tory plan to tackle Islamophobia Conservative efforts to root out Islamophobia defended against Baroness Warsi's complaints

(National-UAE) Campaigners against Islamophobia distanced themselves from Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the former chairman of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party, as she reignited her feud with its leadership over Islamophobia. Weeks after the Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis announced it would work with campaigners to […]