Communities Secretary, John Denham, conjured up visions of a return to 1930s fascism, following the rise of far-right groups, who are provoking violence and targetting mosques.
He drew parallels with Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF), uniformed as ‘Blackshirts’. “The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider violence and [...]
This week I reached out for a McArabia grilled chicken sandwich at McDonald’s in the food court at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, where you can go snow skiing — indoors — even when it’s 120 degrees outdoors.
My body went from 120 degrees outside to 72 degrees inside the mall to 26 degrees [...]
1. The niqab is a symbol of female subjugation.
None of the niqab-wearing women who I know, wear it because they have been forced to. They see it as an act of devotion to their Creator: the culmination of a spiritual journey. In fact most of them are women who were born and brought up in [...]
Casablanca’s mild Mediterranean climate and beautiful architecture make it one of the most desirable locales in the world. This Moroccan city is as surprising as it is beautiful. While it doesn’t conform to Hollywood’s version, here you will find the city’s own secrets and treasures and realize that Casablanca is much more than you were [...]
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor in New York
Friday, 25 September 2009
Iran has been given an ultimatum to suspend its nuclear programme and warned it will face economic sanctions unless it makes a “serious response” by 1 October. At a special session of the United Nations Security Council yesterday which endorsed Barack Obama’s vision of a [...]
Does Islam frown on nose jobs? Chemical peels? How about breast implants?
One of the clerics with the answers is Sheik Mohammed al-Nujaimi, and Saudi women flock to him for guidance about going under the knife. The results may not see much light of day in a kingdom where women cover up from head to toe, [...]
In 1981, Eriko Amino received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in comparative literature, writing a dissertation on medieval French literature. When all goes well, a doctorate marks the beginning of an academic career, but for Amino it marked the end. “When I graduated,” she says, “many of us did not find anything other than adjunct [...]
At least four people have been killed in northeastern Turkey after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides.
Three members of one family were reported killed when a landslide tore through their house on Thursday near the town of Borcka.
An elderly woman drowned in another nearby village, close to Turkey’s border with Georgia.
Emergency crews have been [...]
What if they had been Muslim? It was perhaps the quickest acquittal ever in a ‘terrorist’ trial. Charges against two teenagers at Manchester Crown Court were thrown out by the jury in less than an hour. Defence barrister, Roderick Carus, argued that the case was more to do with the “frivolity of youth.”
So 18-year-old Matthew Swift [...]
Inter-Milan’s coach Jose Mourinho has reopened the debate about fasting and sport by suggesting that the timing of Ramadan was not ideal for football players just beginning their season. The issue is particularly poignant with the forthcoming London Olympics 2012 being held in the middle of Ramadan. Some 3,000 Muslims, who will consequently be at [...]