PM Cameron joins Muslims to celebrate Twelfth Annual Awards Ceremony to recognise the very best of British Muslim Achievement

[Photo: Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at The Muslim News Awards for Excellent 2014 event (Photo: Abdul Datoo/The Muslim News]

At London’s Grosvenor House Monday, Prime Minister, David Cameron, joined some 800 people to celebrate the Twelfth The Muslim News Awards for Excellence  – Britain’s longest standing Muslim awards event. The coveted award ceremony recognises the very best of Muslim contribution to British society.

The Guest of Honour, Prime Minister, David Cameron, presenting the Enterprise award toShabir Randeree, Executive Chair of DCD Group, said, “I’m delighted to have taken part in this year’s Muslim News ds for Excellence, where we were able to champion and celebrate the huge contribution British Muslims make to our country. I was truly impressed hearing about the extraordinary work of the nominees and winners, and it was great to have been able to meet some of them tonight.”

The special Judges award went to Ola Lawal, an active volunteer working to improve the lives of young and disabled people, as well as the local community around her.

Amongst the other 15 winners were, in sport, Mo Farah, Olympic gold medalist, who is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives; in the media, Roohi Hasan, a senior producer at ITV News; children’s award went to 10-year-old, Ahmed Saleh, who has won numerous kickboxing and freestyle karate titles at national, European, and global levels.

For full list of the winners CLICK HERE.

Cameron said that, “I see for myself on a daily basis the massive contribution of British Muslims. From my own colleagues, such as Sayeeda Warsi, Sajid Javid and Tariq Ahmad on the Government benches to the Muslim businesses and enterprises that are bringing growth back to Britain. And of course I frequently see the outstanding achievements of Muslim sportsmen and women, public servants, entertainers and community leaders. The list goes on and on.”

“Tonight we celebrate an entire community – one that is vibrant, hard-working and proud. My message to British Muslims is that this Government is here for you. We are backing hard-working families who want to get on and do the right thing; we are reforming the education system, giving parents more say and delivering the schools and skills that our young people need to succeed; we are reforming the welfare system so it rewards those who want to work; we are cutting taxes, so that people get to keep more of their hard-earned money, and we are creating jobs, so people can provide for their families and feel secure. This is all part of our long-term plan to build a stronger economy and I know that British Muslims will play a vital part in helping to achieve future prosperity and security for our country.”

Special guests included Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, Shadow Justice Secretary, Sadiq Khan, Minister of State at Ministry of Justice, Simon Hughes.

They were joined by civic and religious leaders, as well as representatives from the worlds of politics, business, sport and the arts, to honour unsung heroes and heroines of the community.

Now in its twelfth year, the ceremony has distinguished itself for pioneering an initiative that finds the very best in British Muslims.

The Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed J Versi, said, “We began this event twelve years ago because we wanted to acknowledge the noble accomplishments and displays of distinction within the British Muslim community and showcase the tremendous contributions British Muslims make to Britain. We wanted also to identify and highlight Muslim role models for the younger generation.”

In a message, Opposition Leader Ed Miliband, said: “Tonight’s awards ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate the great talent shown and contribution given by Muslim people in all walks of life.

“The awards recognize not only excellence in business, sport, arts and technology, but also those who have served their communities selflessly. It is a true celebration of values core to our country – of community and commitment, of education and learning.”

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of Liberal Democrats, said: “The Muslim News Awards for Excellence has become the flagship event for Muslim communities in the UK highlighting British Muslim contributions to society which might otherwise go unrecognized.

“The contribution of British Muslims to the country’s rich multicultural landscape cannot be underestimated.”

Ingredient in Herbal Medicines linked to kidney disease

Scientists in Britain have pulled together previous studies about an ingredient in some herbal medicines that can cause severe kidney disease and cancer.

The research is a wake-up call to users of some traditional remedies and to governments that could regulate use of the herbs.

In the early 1990s, an epidemic of kidney disease broke out in Belgium among young women who had been treated with Chinese herbal medicines at a weight-loss clinic. The herbs come from a family called Aristolochia. They are used to treat skin conditions, joint pain and other symptoms.

Graham Lord of Kings College London says the ailment was traced to aristolochic acid, an ingredient in some of the herbs.

“It binds to DNA and causes kidney disease,” Lord says. “It causes cancer in areas where it’s most concentrated, which probably explains why the cancers are mostly focused around the urinary tract and the kidney.”

Lord is the lead author of a new paper describing the kidney disease, now known as aristolochic acid neuropathy (AAN), and suggesting standardized diagnosis and treatment protocols.

Herbs containing aristolochic acid are banned from Europe and the United States, and the resulting form of kidney disease is now mostly found elsewhere.

“Import bans, working with the herbal practitioners that in the past have used this drug, can be extraordinarily effective,” Lord says.

In places where use of these herbs is common, cases of AAN persist.

“In Chinese Taiwan, there’s epidemiological surveys suggesting that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have been exposed to this particular herb,” says Lord, who acknowledges it’s hard to know how many people are actually getting kidney disease from these herbs. A definitive diagnosis requires advanced testing to differentiate from other kinds of kidney disease.

In his review of two decades of published medical literature, Lord found reports of the disease in Europe, North America and Asia. But nothing in other areas of the world where herbal medicines are widely used.

“That’s probably because we’ve not looked in a systematic manner,” he says. “It would surprise me if there wasn’t an incidence of this disease in Africa and in South America as well.”

Treatment of AAN usually requires dialysis or even kidney transplant. Lord says it’s important to identify kidney disease caused by aristolochic acid, so doctors can monitor the patient for cancer, which is more likely than with other causes of kidney failure.

UK Muslims launch Islamophobia helpline

LONDON – Monitoring a rising Islamophobia rate in British society, a new line was launched to offer help for victims of hate crimes, in a trial to record the continuous abuse and vandalism targeting the country’s Muslim minority.

“Many people think that Islamophobic crime does not exist. They say: ‘Where is the data?’” Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, a non-profit group, told the BBC on Tuesday, February 21.

Hoping to shed light on the actual scale of the problem, the group set up the “Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks” (MAMA) project with the help of government funding.

“This is a chance for the Muslim community to say: ‘Let us present the case, in terms of the facts, let somebody collate it and present it to the authorities,’” said Mughal.

“If someone has suffered abuse, been attacked or received a leaflet with inflammatory comments about Muslims in it, I want to hear about it.”

Under Home Office rules, the police are required to record all hate crimes, including crime on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender, disability and faith.

Since 2006, anti-Semitic hate crimes have been recorded separately, in response to a request from the government following an inquiry into anti-Semitism

Unlike anti- Semitic incidents, Islamophobic attacks are not separately recorded as police group them with faith hate crimes against Christians, Hindus and Sikhs.

“A significant challenge in identifying other hate crimes for other religious groups is that many victims consider the crimes to be racist,” a spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said.

“Given that Muslims originate from all ethnicities it would not be possible to identify such victims from within racist crime data.

“While we do not publish national data on anti-Muslim hate crimes, it is important to stress that all police forces maintain their local hate crime data.”

Along with monitoring anti-Muslim incidents, which is also done by Islamophobia Watch, Engage and the Islamic Human Rights Commission, Faith Matters would also offer a personal service to victims.

Rising Islamophobia

Academics say that fear of Islam and Muslims is on the increase in Britain.

“It is a widespread problem in the UK,” Dr Leon Moosavi, an academic based at Lancaster University who has studied Islamophobia, told the BBC.

“More education is needed in schools, and Muslims need to also educate people about their faith.”

As for efforts done by Faith Matters, the group reported some of the cases in which repeated Islamophobic attacks were affecting the lives of the British Muslim minority.

After two years of constant abuse and vandalism, the Amod family was forced to move from their house in a traditionally white area of Leicester, Saffron Lane, to the more multicultural area of Highfields.

“At first my husband did not want us to report it, but it got so bad that in the end I had to,” said Sabana Amod.

“Our car was vandalized, someone tried to set their dog on me, and snowballs with stones in them were thrown at my young children.

“On the day we were moving house, a brick was thrown through the window, narrowly missing my son’s head but the glass shattered and cut his hand. He still has nightmares about it.

“It was because we are Muslim. I wear a jilbab (full length gown) and hijab (head covering) and youths in the street used to ask me if I was a Muslim before abusing me.”

Though the police convicted three people later of racial offenses, the offenders were only sentenced to hours of community service and small compensations.

Other victims of Islamophobic attacks were facing health problems and panic attacks.

Alisha, a student from Middlesbrough, had to take off her hijab after it was polled off her head.

“I started wearing the hijab at university in 2006 but last summer I decided to take it off because I didn’t feel safe after someone tried to pull it off my head,” she said.

“I started to get panic attacks. I never thought I’d feel like this, but everyone is so afraid.”

Alisha believes that she was targeted with her husband because they were Muslim.

“He was verbally abused, called a ‘Paki’, ‘terrorist’, and he was spat on. When he confronted the men, security guards tried to arrest him until an old man pointed out who the attackers were,” she said.

Hostility against British Muslims, estimated at nearly 2.5 million, have been on the rise since the 7/7 attacks.

A Financial Times opinion poll showed that Britain is the most suspicious nation about Muslims.

A poll of the Evening Standard found that a sizable section of London residents harbor negative opinions about Muslims.

Research: smoking “rots” the brain

PanARMENIAN.Net - Smoking “rots” the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning, according to researchers at King’s College London, BBC News reported.

A study of 8,800 people over 50 showed high blood pressure and being overweight also seemed to affect the brain, but to a lesser extent. Scientists involved said people needed to be aware that lifestyles could damage the mind as well as the body. Their study was published in the journal Age and Ageing.

Researchers at King’s were investigating links between the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke and the state of the brain.

Data about the health and lifestyle of a group of over-50s was collected and brain tests, such as making participants learn new words or name as many animals as they could in a minute, were also performed.

They were all tested again after four and then eight years.

The results showed that the overall risk of a heart attack or stroke was “significantly associated with cognitive decline” with those at the highest risk showing the greatest decline.

It also said there was a “consistent association” between smoking and lower scores in the tests.

One of the researchers, Dr Alex Dregan, said: “Cognitive decline becomes more common with ageing and for an increasing number of people interferes with daily functioning and well-being. We have identified a number of risk factors which could be associated with accelerated cognitive decline, all of which, could be modifiable.”

He added: “We need to make people aware of the need to do some lifestyle changes because of the risk of cognitive decline.”

The researchers do not know how such a decline could affect people going about their daily life. They are also unsure whether the early drop in brain function could lead to conditions such as dementia.

Dr Simon Ridley, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Research has repeatedly linked smoking and high blood pressure to a greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and this study adds further weight to that evidence… These results underline the importance of looking after your cardiovascular health from mid-life.”

Britain, Islam and the generational struggle

Within British media and the Westminster Village, the recent release of the latest census data has sparked considerable debate. Much of this has focused on the extent to which some areas of London have experienced ‘white flight’, or whether we should be anxious about the fact that less than 8% of the population do not use English as their main language. But underneath the headlines, debate has also focused on the rising number of Muslims in Britain, and the growing presence of Islam within our society.

Behind a large Christian majority, and excluding the non-religious, the census reveals that Muslims are the second largest religious group, and are also the fastest growing. There are now more than 2.7 million Muslims in England and Wales, an increase of over one million since 2001. British Muslims now comprise at least 4.8% of the population in England and Wales, which is up from 3% in 2001. In fact, since the heady days of 2001 that saw urban disturbances in northern towns, the number of Muslims in England and Wales has risen by 75%.

Unsurprisingly, these statistics have been met with alarm on the right-wing. Commentators such as Douglas Murray point to the growing Muslim population as indicative of Britain’s “troubling future“. This follows similar concerns voiced by figures such as former leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, who stated in one video: “The fact is that Muslims are breeding ten times faster than us… I do not know at what point they reach such a number that we are no longer able to resist the rest of their demands, but if we do not do something now, within the next year or two, we have, in effect, lost”.

These pessimists take comfort from doom-and-gloom prophecies about ‘Muslim takeovers’, and apocalyptic-style scenarios in which Britain and Europe are being ‘Islamified’. They also benefit from a wider circle of anti-Muslim prejudice within sections of British media, which was recently criticized by the Leveson Inquiry for blatantly falsifying stories about Muslims or framing them consistently as problematic or threatening. To date, only a few voices -such as Ian Birrell, Mehdi Hasan, Peter Oborne, Jonathan Freedland and Owen Jones – have taken a stand.

The pessimists (or, more bluntly, Islamophobes) are especially adept at ignoring research that undermines their dreary narratives. We now know, for example, that British Muslims are more likely than other groups in British society to feel satisfied with British democracy. Or that they are just as likely as other groups to feel aduty to vote. Or that they are just as likely as other groups to align themselves with ‘British’ identity. Or that Muslims of Pakistani heritage are no more likely than other groups to have a strong minority identification.

This kind of work, undertaken among others by the Online Centre for Ethnicity in Politics, is an inconvenient distraction to pessimists, who claim that Islam and its followers are posing a fundamentally threatening the British way of life. Only, the simple reality is that these voices are not only disconnected from actual evidence, but they are also on the wrong side of history.

As my new project with Chatham House reveals, Britain is in the midst of a silent and generational revolution in terms of our attitudes toward Islam. This divide across the generations is deep and significant. Working with YouGov, we surveyed 1,666 British adults, probing their attitudes toward a range of different issues, including Islam and the growth of British Muslim communities.

Consistent with the claims of Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who has suggested that anti-Muslim prejudice is relatively widespread, we did find striking levels of public anxiety over the growing presence of Islam and Muslims in Britain.

Consider this: 48% of our overall sample rejected the suggestion that Muslims are compatible with the British way of life; 51% rejected the suggestion that the growth of Muslim communities in Britain does not threaten the survival of the white British majority; and 57% rejected the suggestion that Islam does not pose a serious danger to Western civilization. Strikingly, only 7% felt strongly that Islam does threaten the West, and only 5% felt strongly that Muslims are compatible with the national way of life. Furthermore, almost half of our sample (49%) agreed with the statement ‘there will be a clash of civilizations’ between Muslims and native white Britons’.

Now, many would stop at this point, concluding that most citizens feel under threat from Islam. But if we drill down further, we find a deep and underlying generational struggle that is taking place in modern Britain. This is reflected in Figure 2, which reveals the extent to which young and old Britons subscribe to markedly different outlooks.

Whereas 77%t of the over-60s view Islam as a danger to the West, the figure among 18-24 year olds tumbles to 38%. Whereas 71% of the older generation view the growth of Muslim communities as a threat to white Britons, the figure among 18-24 year olds slumps to 31%. And whereas 65% of the oldest reject the suggestion that Muslims are compatible, this figure dwindles to 31% among the youngest.

Clearly, there remain challenges, some of which will be tackled directly by the new government working group on anti-Muslim prejudice (of which I am a member). But, as history has taught us, once generational drift has started it is an incredibly powerful catalyst for change. Nor is it confined to the issue of Islam. Researchers such as Robert Ford have shown a similar drift in levels of racial prejudice more generally, while I recentlytweeted a graph showing how this also applies to our attitudes toward migration from within the European Union.

This generational drift toward a more liberal and progressive majority will take time. Younger citizens who, over time, will come to replace the ‘angry, old white men’ will need insulating from the effects of a continuing economic crisis and austerity. Policy makers will also need to work hard to ensure that levels of contact between different ethnic and religious groups (which is important in curbing prejudice) remain strong and robust. And given that these attitudes are most likely among those in society who have benefitted from higher education, ensuring access to both education and labour markets will remain a priority.

The fact that the opportunity has arrived is not up for debate. Whether this social change is realized however, is. The broad message is clear: Britain is in the midst of a silent and generational struggle against prejudice, which incorporates hostility toward Muslims and Islam. This presents progressives with an opportunity, but they will need to work hard to ensure that it is grasped.

London Uni stops Friday prayers for not pre submitting khutba

City University in London has been accused of discrimination by a group of Muslim students after it started locking a room used for Friday prayers.

A group of students have formed Muslim Voices on Campus, calling on the university to reverse its decision.

The group said it was being “unjustly targeted”.

City said it acted because students had refused to submit the proposed content of sermons to the university before prayers to check its “appropriateness”.

Wasif Sheikh, who leads the group, said: “We feel we are being unjustly targeted. All of our sermons are open, we welcome all students and all staff.

“But when you start submitting your sermons to be monitored and scrutinized then there’s a chance for it to be dictated what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. We, as students, don’t accept that.”

‘Confrontational atmosphere’

Three years ago, the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation released a report on the sermons at Friday prayers at City University, in central London.

It claimed hardline views and a confrontational atmosphere were being encouraged.

In one sermon, which was recorded, the speaker said: “The Islamic state teaches to cut the hand of the thief. Yes it does. And it also teaches us to stone the adulterer.

“When they tell us that, the Islamic state tells us and teaches us to kill the apostate, yes it does.”

BBC London has seen no evidence those views are still being spread now, but some argue the episode shows the need for greater scrutiny.

‘Vicious history’

Dr Usama Hasan from the Quilliam Foundation said: “If there was no past history at the university, I think what the students are saying would sound extremely reasonable.

“However, there has been quite a vicious and nasty history there. They have to deal with that and give a bit more to the university.

“Both sides need to compromise here and negotiate with some difficult conversations.”

The challenge faced by many universities is how to deal with any potential extremism threat, without being seen to restrict freedom of speech.

A statement from the university said it needed to be sure of the “appropriateness” of what was being discussed in sermons as authorized university events.

It said it also needed to be assured that all “students eligible to deliver” prayers and sermons “are considered equally and given the opportunity to do so”.

The statement went on: “The university could not continue to condone an activity taking place on its premises where it cannot exercise reasonable supervision.”

In addition, the university said it had suggested a number of alternative places for students to pray nearby.

Islam has made London a more conservative place than it was 50 years ago

One of the most  common mistakes people make about cultural and politics is suggesting that history is inevitably heading in one direction. We hear it most commonly in the argument made that “we can’t turn the clock back” to the 1950s, as if anyone is planning to ban garlic bread or continental lager. (I don’t see why achieving 1950s levels of crime would be either undesirable or impossible).

History does not work like that, and in a strange way London today is even more conservative than it was in the 1950s – thanks to liberals.

This week London Metropolitan University’s vice-chancellor suggested that parts of the campus be made alcohol-free because some Muslim students believe it is “evil” and “immoral”.

This paper reports:

Prof Malcolm Gillies of London Metropolitan University said he wants to create alcohol free areas on campus out of “cultural sensitivity”. About a fifth of students at the university come from Muslim families – many of them young women from traditional homes. For many of them, the drinking culture among students marred rather than heightened their student experience, he said.

In principle there’s nothing wrong with this. If one university wants to make itself more attractive to teetotal students, then heavy-drinking students (ie 99 per cent of them) can go to the many colleges where cheap beer flows abundantly. That’s the free market. Muslims aside, many people would prefer a less boozy environment. But I can’t help but feel that this new puritanism is not what the young people who once shouted “disembowel Enoch Powell” in opposition to immigration restrictions had in mind.

The new conservatism of London has already had profound effects, as demographic changes gather pace.

Stonewall’s bus adverts, for example, would be better concentrated in Tower Hamlets, where there were 47 anti-gay attacks in 2008, rather than being wasted on the rest of us. Young gay men in the provinces no longer need to run away to London, one of the most religiously conservative places in England now (and not just among Muslims – African Christians too).

More generally public displays of sexuality have had to be restricted where they offend conservative sensibilities. In Old Street, central London, a huge billboard advertising condoms asks “LOVE SEX?” Half a mile away in Spitalfields even mildly racy adverts for swimwear are routinely vandalised. As for public criticism and mockery of religion – surely no one can deny that the clock has well and truly been turned back? Seven years ago the Tate Gallery refused to exhibit John Latham’s conceptual piece God is Great, originally made in 1991, which featured a six-foot high plate of glass with a Talmud, Bible and Koran. It said it would not be “appropriate” following the London bombings. Latham was in the avant garde of 1960s art, where freedom to criticise and mock religion went without saying; 50 years later London is a very different place in many, many ways.

Old Street was the epicentre of Methodism in London, and is still home to two great Wesleyan churches and the Nonconformist Bunhill Fields graveyard. Methodism was part of a wider reaction to the licence, corruption and sin of 18th century which resulted in more conservative social mores. Today Methodism is a spent force – but it seems that societies without native social conservatives tend to end up importing them.

London, as Ken Livingstone appreciates and future London mayors will very much have to, is a much more socially conservative city than it was when the 60s swang.

London Uni stops Friday prayers for not pre submitting khutba

City University in London has been accused of discrimination by a group of Muslim students after it started locking a room used for Friday prayers.

A group of students have formed Muslim Voices on Campus, calling on the university to reverse its decision.

The group said it was being “unjustly targeted”.

City said it acted because students had refused to submit the proposed content of sermons to the university before prayers to check its “appropriateness”.

Wasif Sheikh, who leads the group, said: “We feel we are being unjustly targeted. All of our sermons are open, we welcome all students and all staff.

“But when you start submitting your sermons to be monitored and scrutinized then there’s a chance for it to be dictated what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. We, as students, don’t accept that.”

‘Confrontational atmosphere’

Three years ago, the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation released a report on the sermons at Friday prayers at City University, in central London.

It claimed hardline views and a confrontational atmosphere were being encouraged.

In one sermon, which was recorded, the speaker said: “The Islamic state teaches to cut the hand of the thief. Yes it does. And it also teaches us to stone the adulterer.

“When they tell us that, the Islamic state tells us and teaches us to kill the apostate, yes it does.”

BBC London has seen no evidence those views are still being spread now, but some argue the episode shows the need for greater scrutiny.

‘Vicious history’

Dr Usama Hasan from the Quilliam Foundation said: “If there was no past history at the university, I think what the students are saying would sound extremely reasonable.

“However, there has been quite a vicious and nasty history there. They have to deal with that and give a bit more to the university.

“Both sides need to compromise here and negotiate with some difficult conversations.”

The challenge faced by many universities is how to deal with any potential extremism threat, without being seen to restrict freedom of speech.

A statement from the university said it needed to be sure of the “appropriateness” of what was being discussed in sermons as authorized university events.

It said it also needed to be assured that all “students eligible to deliver” prayers and sermons “are considered equally and given the opportunity to do so”.

The statement went on: “The university could not continue to condone an activity taking place on its premises where it cannot exercise reasonable supervision.”

In addition, the university said it had suggested a number of alternative places for students to pray nearby.

British government warned of far-right terror threat

British MPs have warned the government not to neglect the threat from extreme far-right terrorism.

In a report on radicalisation, the Home Affairs Committee said it had heard “persuasive evidence” about the potential danger.

The MPs also say internet service providers should make greater efforts to remove violent extremist material.

The committee interviewed jailed radical Muslim preacher Abu Hamza as part of its research.

Its report examines the roots of radicalization and the government’s Prevent strategy designed to counter it.

The MPs said violent Islamist radicalization appeared to be declining but there may be increasing support for non-violent extremist views fuelled by “feelings of alienation”.

“A view was expressed by some of those giving evidence to us… that the revised Prevent strategy only pays lip service to the threat from extreme far-right terrorism,” the report added.

“We accept that Prevent resources should be allocated proportionately to the terrorist threat. However, we received persuasive evidence about the potential threat from extreme far-right terrorism.”

The committee cited the growth of far-right groups with links to similar organizations inEurope.

“The ease of travel and communications between countries inEuropeand the growth of far-right organizations… suggest that the current lack of firm evidence should not be a reason for neglecting this area of risk,” the MPs said.

Breeding grounds

The report described the internet as “one of the few unregulated spaces where radicalization is able to take place” and suggested it played a greater role in promoting violence than prisons, universities or places of worship.

It says service providers should sign a code of conduct aimed at removing such material.

The committee said that although legislation allows the police to order the removal of unlawful extremist material, internet service providers should be more active in dealing with it.

Keith Vaz MP, the committee chairman, said: “The conviction last week of four men from London and Cardiff radicalized over the internet, for a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and launch a Mumbai-style atrocity on the streets of London, shows that we cannot let our vigilance slip.

“More resources need to be directed to these threats and to preventing radicalization through the internet and in private spaces. These are the fertile breeding grounds for terrorism.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our new Prevent strategy challenges extremist ideology, helps protect institutions from extremists, and tackles the radicalization of vulnerable people.

“Above all, it tackles the threat from home-grown terrorism on and off line. We are working closely with the police and internet service providers to take internet hate off the web.

“We are pleased the Home Affairs Committee and the witnesses who contributed to its report broadly support the outcome of the Prevent review and the revised strategy.”

‘Blackmailing the government’

During the research, the MPs met in prison Abu Hamza, the preacher jailed for hate crimes and now facing extradition to theUnited States.

He told them that Islamist radicalization was driven by “grievance, guilt and capability”, the report reveals.

“Grievances were driven by British foreign policy (relating toPalestineandAfghanistan) and a sense that the Prophet was being mocked.

“He did not believe that unemployment was a source of grievance, and considered that groups who suggested it was were ‘blackmailing’ the government for funding.

“Guilt was driven by a feeling that you were safe but your brother was not and you could not help him.”

Study indicates more Britons are converting to Islam

A new study found that the number of Britons converting to Islam is growing, a London-based newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Independent newspaper said that the estimated number of British converts has always been difficult to count because “census data does not differentiate between a religious person that has adopted a new faith or was born into it.”

According to a new study by the inter-faith think tank Faith Matters, the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each year. Previous estimates have placed the number of Muslim converts in the UK at between 14,000 and 25,000.

The study used data from the Scottish 2001 census, the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey; researchers broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were by ethnicity and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole, the newspaper said. In all they estimated that there were 60,699 converts living in Britain in 2001.

The researchers polled mosques in London to try to calculate how many conversions take place a year. The results gave a figure of 1,400 conversions in the capital in the past 12 months, which, when extrapolated nationwide, would mean approximately 5,200 people converting to Islam every year.

Meanwhile, the figures are comparable with studies in Germany and France, which found that there were around 4,000 conversions a year in each country.

“This report is the best intellectual ‘guestimate’ using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques,” Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, told the newspaper.

“Either way, few people doubt that the number adopting Islam in the UK has risen dramatically in the past 10 years.”

Asked why people were converting in such large numbers, he replied: “I think there is definitely a relationship between conversions being on the increase and the prominence of Islam in the public domain. People are interested in finding out what Islam is all about, and when they do that they go in different directions. Most shrug their shoulders and return to their lives, but some will inevitably end up liking what they discover and will convert.”

Hijab to Make History in London Olympics

Becoming the first team to compete in an international competition in hijab, female Muslim weightlifters from the United Arab Emirates will be making history in the London Olympics.

“We were the first country for our athletes to be covered, wearing Islamic dress,” Jassim Abdulrahman Al-Awazi, a board member for the Emirates Weightlifting Federation and the GCC Weightlifting Organization, told the Emirati daily The National on Monday, May 21.

UAE weightlifters have earned a place in the London Olympics, to start in the British capital from July 27 to August 12.

This time, the weightlifters will be able to don hijab while participating in the competition after the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) changed rules to allow the Muslim headscarf.

It followed the case of veiled US Muslim athlete who challenged IWF rules that banned the outfit in competition.

Under previous IWF rules, weightlifters wore outfits, officially called “costumes”, which had to be collarless and not cover the elbows or knees.

But in July, the governing body modified the rules to accommodate Muslim beliefs and accordingly allowed hijab.

“It is very good for Muslim countries that this issue has been raised,” said Al-Awazi.

“It is not forced, it is a choice for the athletes if they want to wear it.”

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

New Audience

UAE officials believe that amended rules to allow hijab will open the sport to a whole new audience.

“Now it has been opened to everyone,” Al-Awazi, the board member for the Emirates Weightlifting Federation, told The National.

“If you want to join, why not? Now there are no excuses, no reasons to say no.”

Sheikh Sultan bin Mejren, the president of the Emirates Weightlifting Federation, shares a similar view.

“It was a decision which will help the whole Islamic world,” Mejren said.

“Now there is no difference between Muslims and non-Muslims in events like the Olympics. There is no border to accept them or not.

“Everybody can participate without breaking rules.”

Physical Olympic sports such as rugby and taekwondo allow Muslim women to wear the headscarf in competition.

Hijab shined during Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 when many Muslim women athletes broke Western stereotypes, proving that donning hijab is not an obstacle to excelling in life and sports.

During the games, half a dozen veiled Egyptians, three Iranians, an Afghan and a Yemeni competed in sprinting, rowing, taekwondo and archery.

Ramadan Olympics challenge Muslim athletes

LONDON — When the summer Olympic Games open in London later this month, Muslims worldwide, including many elite athletes, will be observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Muslim Olympic hopefuls face the prospect of competing at the highest levels while abstaining from all food and drink during the long days of the London summer. And, that’s not their only challenge.

Observant Muslims wake up in the middle of the night to eat before the fast begins. In London, the Ramadan pre-dawn meal will be at about four o’clock in the morning.

However, sleep deprivation might be the bigger problem for athletes.

“During the month of Ramadan, athletes – or those who want to keep the fast – they have to wake up in the early morning to eat something,” says Muhammad Abdul Bari, the director of London’s biggest mosque and a member of the London Olympic Organizing Committee. “That means they will have to deprive themselves of sleep.  And, how that will affect [them] depends on individual resilience, individual practice, determination and spirit.”

Many Muslim athletes will be unaccustomed to the long summer days at London’s northern latitude, which this year results in a 17-hour fast.

The interpretation of Ramadan rules varies, but there is no automatic exemption for athletes.  According to Bari, Muslim athletes deal with this problem for some competition almost every year.

“It depends on [the] individual athlete and their national Olympic team,” he says. “And probably those who are practicing [Muslims], they will ask the scholars, theologians, as to what they can do.”

Olympic organizers are making an effort to help Muslim Olympians cope. In addition to providing Halal food 24 hours a day, special evening snack packs for breaking the fast will be available at all venues and a team of chaplains will be on hand to help.

Tens of thousands of spectators and staff members will also be observing the fast.

The chief chaplain of the London Olympics says officials are making allowances for Muslim staff members.

“We’ve done a staff managers briefing to ensure that staff who are observing Ramadan and fasting are not in the middle of a car park in sunshine all day,” says Canon Duncan Green of Britain’s Anglican Church, “or not on a very strenuous job where they are going to need lots of liquid refreshment.”

Canon Green says the 2012 Olympics were bound to overlap with Ramadan, because of  Olympic Committee requirements and the need to make use of transport assets and volunteers available in London during the summer vacation season.

But the Muslim Olympic athletes, spectators and staff members will not be alone in facing the effects of Ramadan, considering all of the coaches, cooks, doctors and dozens of Muslim Olympic chaplains standing by to help them

VIGILANTES: Members of ‘Muslim Patrol’ confront people in London, confiscating alcohol and telling women to cover up

London, Jan 18 (IANS) Police in the British capital are investigating reports of a gang claiming to be Islamic vigilantes who have told people to give up alcohol and women to cover their bodies in their “Muslim area.”

The men dressed in hoods call themselves the “Muslim Patrol,” Britain’s the Daily Mail reported.

They have uploaded videos on YouTube, and a clip called “The Truth About Saturday Night” has been viewed 42,000 times.

The men have been filmed walking the streets of London and calling white women “naked animals with no self respect.”

The group is also shown taking away alcohol from revellers. They also filmed a cyclist being treated after a road accident, and claimed he was injured because he was “unclean.”

A member of the group says: “We don’t care if you are appalled at all.”

Scotland Yard has said it was investigating.

Shot on a mobile phone at night in the Waltham Forest area of London, a number of men are seen shouting “this is a Muslim area” towards white Britons, police said.

One video says: “From women walking the street dressed like complete naked animals with no self respect, to drunk people carrying alcohol, to drunks being killed in the middle of the road, we try our best to capture and forbid it all.”

The men also tell a group of women they need to forbid themselves “from dressing like this and exposing themselves outside the mosque.”

Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim organization which campaigns for a peaceful co-existence among communities, has condemned the group’s behaviour.