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Weekly Desh l Britain’s largest circulation Bengali newspaper l Out every Friday l Free l 50p where sold
Why is the Bangladesh government giving so many people special status… page 52
Shahida Rahman talks at and reports on the Suffragette Festival… page 53
Mayor Lutfur congratulates students on A-level results
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tudents from Tower Hamlets chalked up impressive results as many exceeded their expectations. Hundreds of teenagers learned of their A-level results on Thursday, August 14, either online or by collecting them from their schools and colleges. Students at Cambridge Heath Sixth Form, a partnership of three schools: Morpeth, Oaklands and Swanlea had 45 per cent of students achieving A*-B grades, an increase of more than 10 per cent from last year and 99 per cent of students achieving A*-E grades. Established in 2009, the three schools work together to provide the benefit of a greater breadth and choice of subjects and courses, whilst retaining the stability and structures of a school sixth form. Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman, joined students in celebrating at Cambridge Heath Sixth Form on results morning, said: “Tower Hamlets already has one of the best records in the country for the proportion of A-level students who go on to university. “I want it to become the norm
Mayor Lutfur Rahman with one of the many Tower Hamlets students who enjoyed success in their A-levels that local children go into higher education, and with the help the council gives to university students and A-level results such as we have seen this year, that ambition is certainly within reach.” Cllr Gulam Robbani, cabinet member for children’s services, added: “We have worked hard in recent years to make sure
the successes seen at GCSE carry through to A-level. I’m delighted to see everyone’s hard work is paying off and offer my sincere congratulations to all our sixth form students. “With more sixth form places opening from September, these impressive results will get even better as we offer lo-
cal students more choice about where and what they study.” Students at Cambridge Heath Sixth Form were all smiles as they got their hands on results slips. Months of hard work and dedication paid off with many securing their first choice of university. Star pupil Iftikhar Latif gained two A*s and one A in Econom-
‘Tower Hamlets already has one of the best records in the country for the proportion of A-level students who go on to university’
ics, Sociology and History. The 18 year old will be heading off to Oxford to read Law. He said: “The last two years have been tough but I’ve had great support from my parents and teachers. I am really pleased with my results and it is taking a while to sink in.” Iftikhar was given more good news on the day, as one of the lucky recipients of the Lloyds Scholar Bursary, giving him a £1,500 cash boost to help with the cost of university life. Barak Chowdhury decided to opt out of traditional A-levels when he was left disappointed with his AS results. Instead the head boy at Swanlea School chose to do a BTEC in Business Studies. The astute move paid off as Barak celebrated the equivalent of three A*s gaining 18 distinctions. The 19-year-old was keen not to just focus on academic studies but to gain wider skills by gaining practical experience working on a business enterprise at school. During his stint as head boy, Barak met Princess Anne, David Cameron and David Lammy. Barak said: “Doing a BTEC
was the best choice I made and suited my style of learning. With my results I am hoping to go to Manchester University to do marketing.” Suraya Miah is one step closer to achieving her ambition of becoming a doctor. The 18-year-old Oaklands student got the grades she needed to read medicine at St George’s, University of London and is not daunted by the prospect of another five years of hard work. She said: “I am so happy! This has been my dream to study medicine and I am not put off by what lies ahead. I can’t wait to start.” Over at Bethnal Green Academy students achieved a 98.4 per cent pass rate, their best ever to date. Students can take advantage of the Mayor’s Higher Education Award, which is a groundbreaking scheme to help ease the cost of university for Tower Hamlets students. There are 400 grants available, each of £1,500, to young people. The scheme is the first higher education grant programme of this scale in the country.
Baroness Warsi wins over Muslim community with support for Palestine
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he Muslim Council of Britain commended Baroness Sayeda Warsi who resigned today as Senior Minister of State for Faith and Communities. Baroness Warsi resigned from government by stating: “I can no longer support Government policy over Gaza.” Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary
General of the Muslim Council of Britain, praised Baroness Warsi over her decision and paid tribute to her role as a Minister: “Baroness Warsi made a difficult decision in resigning from the Government. “But her decision reflects the common humanity that exists in her own party and across the political spectrum,
all horrified by the brutality of the Israeli war machine against the people of Gaza. Our government can no longer remain oblivious to the concerns of the British public. “It must speak out more firmly against the government in Tel Aviv and pressurise them to stop their bloody campaign and end the siege on Gaza.”
Praising Baroness Warsi’s work as a Minister, Dr Shafi said: “Baroness Warsi has worked extremely hard as a Minister, not in only representing our country so well in Muslim countries and at international forums, but also in bringing faith communities together here in the UK. She has also worked hard for Brit-
ish Muslims, from highlighting the contribution of Muslims in the First World War to supporting Islamic Finance. Being the first Muslim to be a chair of the Conservative Party and a member of Cabinet, Sayeeda Warsi has certainly been a role model to Muslims around the country. May she continue to be so.”
Baroness Wasi… unselfish decision
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News Volunteers needed for drama festival
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ooking for a career in events management or just fancy helping out on a dynamic festival which attracts an international audience? Tower Hamlets Council is looking for a team of enthusiastic volunteers of all ages to work with the council’s Arts and Events team to deliver a unique theatre festival in November. Volunteers will learn skills in events management, front of house, hospitality, artist liaison and customer liaison plus much more. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman said: “We have a thriving arts scene in Tower Hamlets and A Season of Bangla Drama is one of our flagship cultural events which celebrates new writing and promotes the wealth of talent we have in the borough.” Cllr Shafiqul Haque, cabinet member for culture added: “Volunteering is a great way to gain valuable experience to help our residents secure jobs. I hope residents will apply to be a part of this popular festival.” Rajia Khan, Volunteer Development Co-ordinator said: “Volunteering is a two-way process. Equally, taking part in such a high calibre and culturally diverse arts programme will provide an enriching and rewarding experience.” Volunteers are needed every weekend throughout November and travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Two teenagers arrested over scam
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wo teenagers arrested in London’s East End have been charged in connection with a £1m courier fraud investigation by five police forces in the South West. Rahim Choudhrey and Abdul Shafee, both 18, living at Wheeler House in Quaker Street, Spitalfields, are charged with a total of 10 counts of conspiracy to defraud victims out of a total of £168,600.
Rushanara Ali (fourth from left), Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow, celebrates A-levels with students at Tower Hamlets College. Ms Ali is shadow education minister
Tower Hamlets students exceed A-level forecasts
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hadow Education Minister, Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow celebrated with local students at Tower Hamlets College as they received their A level results. The college achieved a 92% pass-rate overall and saw increases in the proportion of students gaining passes at A*, A and B level – bucking the downward trend seen nationally for numbers of young people achieving top results. Labour has pledged to improve the life-chanc-
es of young people in further education through: l Introducing a new National Baccalaureate to create parity of esteem between vocational and academic education; l Reforming independent careers advice and guidance to support young people in
making the best choices at every stage of their time at schools, colleges and beyond; l Promising a Youth Jobs Guarantee to young people who have been out of work for 12 months, ensuring they receive a job or high-quality training; l Creating technical de-
‘I am delighted that so many of our young people have achieved such excellent exam results this year and congratulate them on their hard work’
£6,000 raised for Muslim Aid
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n an auspicious occasion chairman Malik Ghazanfar Ali of Ilford Islamic Centre presented the cheque of £6000 to Mohammad Walayat Khokhar MBE Community Liaison Officer of International Charity Muslim Aid. The donation of this huge amount was exclusively given for the welfare of the victims in Gaza. In the picture Raja Gultasab Khan
and Hajji Ghulam Hussain were also present. This centre has already donated the amount of £4000 for the victims of Gaza. Mr Khokhar expressed his sincere gratitude to the chairman and his team and all the donors who have been very generously donating to Muslim Aid over the years. I’ll be extremely grateful if you very kindly give this news an appropriate place in your paper.
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grees at university to enable young people with a wide variety of talents to achieve high-level qualifications. After speaking to students, Rushanara said: “I am delighted that so many of our young people have achieved such excellent exam results this year and congratulate them on their hard work. I wish them every success in what they go onto to do next in order to realise their ambitions.” “Under this Government, however, young people are telling us that they are not getting
the right advice and guidance at these important moments in their education to make well-informed decisions. Labour will ensure that each young person is supported to make the right choices for themselves - whether that choice is to go on to university, start an apprenticeship or explore other forms of vocational education. That means creating valuable opportunities for work experience as well as ensuring each young person receives independent careers advice and guidance to make the most of their talents.”
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News Britain can do much better I
Opinion Adnan Pavel on his impressions and expectations of the British
http://www.facebook.com/TheAdnanPavel http://twitter.com/AdnanPavel http://adnanpavel.com/
t’s rare to find someone who hasn’t heard about British Imperialism. The British Empire stretched from one part of the world to another: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Union of Africa, India. Indeed it was a popular saying that the sun never set on the British Empire. Commonwealth is the skeleton of the death British Imperialism. British Imperialism caused many war, internal conflicts, civil war, famine to different parts of the world. “The Bengal famine”, an example of how British imperialism engineered worst genocide in human history for profit. Many people can possibly argue that British Imperialism also had some positive impacts i.e. education, transport, laws and same time other group can argue that they replaced the education system to get rid of self-esteem, native culture of the people they ruled. But today, I am not going to argue on this all these issues. Today, let’s have a glimpse on Britain. I am not happy with few things about today’s Britain, hence the name is “Britain can do better than this”. Britain is a country that stands for fairness, equality, freedom & prosperity. But have a look to today’s Britain. The gap between rich and poor is getting wider than many other developed countries. Education is a social good, it’s not a tool for business. But sadly the culture has changed completely. Education is becoming a great tool for business in today’s Britain. Of course, things need to be amended with pace of time but a clear balance needs to be drawn. Britain is known around the world for it’s excellent welfare system but we have seen the introduction of terrible bed-room tax, scraping of Education Maintenance Fund (EMA) and so on. Any abuse of any facility needs to be tackled but that doesn’t mean penalizing innocent individual or scraping it without in-
‘We want to see a Britain that establishes peace, democracy and prosperity around the world… But we have seen a different Britain’s face when it comes to foreign policy’
Open letter from Mayor Lutfur Rahman Palestinian flag at Town Hall
I A map of the British Empire showing areas of the world it controlled in red troducing anything alternative. Immigration is always a big and toxic topic in today’s Britain. UK is famous for it’s education , diversity and for welcoming talented people around the world but today’s Britain seems loosing it’s glory and fame. Immigrants are hated now a days anytime before. We will see when it comes to Education, welfare or Immigration, many Westminster’s politician and government took wrong stand. Let’s talk a little bit on foreign policy. We want to see a Britain that establishes peace, democracy and prosperity around the world, that stands with wounded and helps to cure that. But we have seen a different Britain’s face when it comes to foreign policy. Britain still sell arms to Israel, Britain sold chemicals and components to Syria that ended up being used in the manufacture of the deadly nerve agent sarin. This is not the Britain we want, “Britain can do better than this”. People around the world wants to see a Britain that opens it’s border for talented people around the world who wants to contribute positively to British economy and society, people around the world wants to see a Britain that plays a vital role of establishing democracy , peace and prosperity. People want to see a Britain that stands for fairness and equality. Britain can do better than this.
Extra help for children with special educational needs
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xtra help is about to be made available for children with disabilities, children with special educational needs and their families. Tower Hamlets Council is expanding the reach of the services available at the Parents Advice Centre. For the past 20 years, the centre has been offering expert advice, information and support to parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It currently helps 600 children each year in Tower Hamlets. From the start of September
the service will be expanding to: l extend the upper age limit of young people to 25, from the current 16-19 range; l cater for young people themselves as well as their parents; and l launch a new youth forum for young people to share their experiences and express their views. Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “These changes will make a real difference to the lives of local young people. “This council is committed to helping every child and young
person reach their potential, regardless of how complex their needs may be. We are proud to be expanding this service.” The services offered by the Parents Advice Centre, based in Greatorex Street, include leading information groups, a mediation service and offering one-to-one sessions to help prepare young people for making the transition to the next stage of education. The help is aimed at improving young people’s access to health, social care, education and leisure opportunities. Cllr Gulam Robbani, cab-
inet member for children’s services, said: “The staff and volunteers at the Parents Advice Centre work tirelessly to help hundreds of families in Tower Hamlets. They have been consulting with young people and their families on the expansion of the service and everyone is delighted with the improvements it will bring.” The first full meeting of the young person’s forum will be held at the centre on Tuesday, September 30, at 4pm. New members are welcome. To find out more contact the Parents Advice Centre.
Cllr Gulam Robbani… ‘delighted’
Dear Sir or Madam would like to thank you for your support and kind words about raising the Palestinian flag at the Tower Hamlets Town Hall. I am pleased to inform you that as a result of your positive contribution and effort, I have received over 7,018 individual messages of support for this gesture so far and 23 messages raising concerns about why the flag was raised, which I have noted and will consider for the future. I genuinely felt that raising the flag was necessary to highlight the issue to promote peace and call for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. It is immensely encouraging to see that so many members of the British public and around the world are in support of ending the violence, where innocent men, women and children are being killed and hurt. I am humbled and hope that my small effort has contributed in ensuring that Ed Miliband has had to openly question the Government policy on Gaza. Baroness Warsi, former Conservative Chair and Foreign Office Minister has resigned due to the “morally indefensible” position of the Government. Also, I am sure that you are aware that a local Scottish Council – Dumbarton - raised the Palestinian flag after Tower Hamlets had done so. In light of this there are a number of further actions I want to take, and would like to contact you from time to time and keep you informed of these developments. Additionally if you have any ideas about what more I can do, I would like to hear from you. Please REPLY with your phone number and comments right away. Thank you again for your support. Kind regards, Lutfur Rahman Mayor of Tower Hamlets
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Features
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Coming soon! New page for kids Send your pictures, poems and articles now for publication in the Weekly Desh English section Email englishnews@weeklydesh.co.uk
Europe’s first Asian boutique centre
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ast Shopping Centre (ESC), Europe’s first major indoor Asian shopping mall, is opening in October 2014 in the heart of East London’s bustling shopping district, Green Street, which is located in Newham. The vibrant new centre is being developed on the one-acre plus site of a former bus depot, which is a landmark in the area. It comprises 35 two-storey units, a 17-unit Souk – a smaller marketplace for retailers and local businesses – and a spacious 220-capacity, six unit Food Court, bringing a taste of the world’s flavours to Green Street. A spectacular glass roof spans the length of the centre, giving East Shopping Centre a light, airy and open ambience. East has contributed to the regeneration of the area and the developers have taken specific measures to ensure that the centre retains its original façade and is as sustainable to the degree that it comply with the scheme’s stringent BREEAM requirements. Eco-friendly features include solar panels to save on electricity usage; flow restrictors to help save water; and harvesters to recycle water throughout the mall - as well as carefully sourced materials for the entire development– all of which not only help to protect the environment, but also reduce costs for the retailers. This multi-million pound project is spearheaded by ACR Investments Ltd who between its four partners have over a hundred years of combined experience within the property and construction industries.
‘We couldn’t be more excited to be making history with East Shopping Centre, being the first development of it’s kind in Europe. Newham is a wonderful district Green Street is already a major hub for people to shop’
War reporter killed in gruesome video
Street and has had support from local retailers and Newham council. The shopping centre will also have a positive impact on the local community through commerce opportunities and it’s generation of approximately 150-200 jobs. Leading Asian designer fashions, luxury jewellery and accessory brands are keen to be a part of this historic venture and although many of the units are already taken, some remain available. East will provide consumers one centralised destination to do their shopping and create a comfortable, convenient and enjoyable experience for consumers of any community.
Too many ‘Officers on Special Duty’ I
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ames Foley (pictured), the US journalist beheaded by Islamist militants, was an experienced reporter who had worked in a number of war zones and was aware of the risks he faced. Mr Foley, 40, was working in Syria when he was kidnapped near the village of Taftanaz in November 2012. A video purportedly shows Mr Foley being killed by the Islamic State, the group formerly known as ISIS and ISIL.
The partners at ACR Investments Ltd said: “We couldn’t be more excited to be making history with East Shopping Centre, being the first development of it’s kind in Europe. The borough of Newham is a wonderful district with so much potential and Green Street is already a major hub for people to shop for clothes, food, accessories and everything in between. Our aim is for East Shopping Centre to enhance the street’s appeal and expand on this vibrant shopping destination by attracting new consumers and businesses. East is building on the strong cultural heritage of Green
Legal Eagle Barrister Nazir Ahmed on a scary thing for the civil servants in Bangladesh ahmedlaw2002@yahoo.co.uk
n Bangladesh, the government of the day can, at any time, take any civil servant off duty and make him or her an Officer on Special Duty (OSD). It may look or sound usual or normal. But in the Secretariat, it is very scary thing for the civil servants. It is widely seen and considered as punishment. The civil servants on OSD have no duties or tasks to do. They take their salary without doing anything. Each and every government in the past has made many civil servants OSD. But the number of officers made OSD by the current government has been unprecedented. During the last five years thousands of officers – right from the Assistant Secretary level to the Full Secretary level – have been made OSD.
‘Each and every government in the past has made many civil servants OSD. But the number of officers made OSD by the current government has been unprecedented’
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Making civil servants OSD widely causes two severe problems. Firstly: public money in the amount of hundreds, if not thousands, of crore taka is wasted in giving salaries and other facilities to those civil servants on OSD. Secondly: civil servants on OSD become demoralised and gradually lose their aptitude. They see their colleagues or juniors or less competent officers are being posted in important positions on political consideration but they are victimised despite having relevant skills and experience. When the government is changed, OSD officers, being perceived to be anti-incumbent government, are put into important positions by the new government and those who were in important positions, being perceived to be in favour of the previous government, are made OSD. In this way, the entire civil service is polarised/ politicised and civil servants are compelled to lose their impartiality. They are compelled to think of belongingness to the government party. In the long run, the country will be deprived from the service of the supposed neutral, impartial and efficient civil servants. The sooner the government realises this, the better for them, the better for the country.
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Opinion The mysterious motives of IS
Analysis Abdul Montaqim asks, ‘Whose side is IS on?’
Clockwise from above: the Suffragettes take to the streets to demand the vote in 1909; a new campaign, highlighted at the festival, aiming to make Parliament 50-50 men and women; festival organisers promote their literature; visitors to the festival relax in the grounds of the venue, Toynbee Hall; more festival organisers. The speakers at the festival included Shahida Rahman (below)
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A woman’s work is never done T
Perspective Shahida Rahman at the East London Suffragette Festival
Shahida Rahman is the author of Lascar www.shahidarahman.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/ ShahidaOfficial Twitter: @shahidarahman
he East London Suffragette Festival was held on Saturday 9th August 2014 which celebrated 100 years since the East London Federation of Suffragettes was established in Bow, East London by Sylvia Pankhurst. The word “suffrage” means the right to vote. By the early 1900’s, women had been campaigning for the right to vote for nearly half a century. The birth of the Women’s Social and Political Union, founded by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903 breathed new life into the suffragette movement. Sylvia was Emmeline’s daughter. But it wasn’t just the rights of British women that the suffragettes fought for, it was also a fight to free all oppressed women, whatever their nationality. I was honoured to speak at the event. It was a packed event and a very successful one. I was on the ‘Hidden Histories’ panel together with Dr Kat Gupta , a corpus linguist based at the University of Nottingham, Dr Louise Raw is an historian, writer and speaker who talked about the Bryant & May matchwomen’s strike of 1888. The panel was chaired by Susie Symes, economist and museum-maker, chairs 19 Princelet Street, Europe’s first museum of immigration and diversity and the only cultural institution in Britain to be founded by refugees. The panel discussion explored the stories that don’t get told and why, and sharing strategies for reviving lost history. I talked about my novel ‘Lascar’. Lascar means ‘sailor from East India.’ It’s a historical novel, set in the 1860s and it’s the story of one man’s journey to fulfil his destiny. Ayan is forced to leave poverty stricken Bengal by becoming a Lascar, to help his ailing. The harsh reality of working on a trading ship leaves him fearing for his life. Ayan and his fellow Lascars escape the ship to the bitter-cold streets of Victorian London. I also talked about the role Asian women played in the suffragette
‘We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers’
movement. During this time British colonialism was at its height and many Asian women found themselves adrift within British society. Most came to Britain as servants, called Ayah’s (nannies). They travelled with English families back and forth between Britain and India and took care of children. Generally Ayahs were temporarily employed for the few weeks of travel and were often dismissed on entry into England. Passage back to India was often difficult, so the ‘Ayah’s Home’ was set up in 1897 in Hackney to house those waiting to return to India and find them employment in the interim. There was little or no support. I am currently writing a second novel about an Indian Ayah in Edwardian England. A famous Indian suffragette was Sophia Duleep Singh was born in 1876, the last of four daughters to the Maharaja Duleep Singh. She became an influential and prominent figure within the British suffragette movement and an icon to all Asian women living both in Britain and in India. Sophia played important parts in the suffragette movement in Britain and also supported Lascar sailors. Other speakers at the event were; Steve Warren and Miranda Brennan. They are descendants of the East London suffragettes. They talked about their fascinating family stories. There was poetry by writer Chiméne Suleyman. Other topics discussed were Tackling Domestic Violence in the East End and talks were given by Bridget Symonds from Jagonari, Jo Harvey Barringer from Broken Rainbow and Musarat Rashid from Newham Action Against Domestic Violence . The highlight of the day was meeting Dr Helen Pankhurst and her 87 year old father Richard Pankhurst (Sylvia Pankhurst’s son). Helen’s daughter Laura gave a speech about women’s rights and a we also heard a few words from Paul Isolani Smyth, great nephew of suffragette photographer Norah Smyth. There were stalls to compliment the event. Newham Bookshop were also there selling a wide range of history books. It was a truly fascinating event, celebrating the birth of votes for women. Lascar is published by Indigo Dreams Publishing and is available at £7.99. ‘We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers’. Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst.
ou don’t need to be crazy to work as a journalist, but it helps. And you don’t need to be a journalist to be a scapegoat, but again, it helps. No-one likes to be told bad news. No-one likes to be told they’re wrong. Especially if they’re being told by someone who lacks subtlety. I’m about as subtle as a sledgehammer and used to lack a little finesse. I’ve been told over the years it helps to have those qualities – but I haven’t changed much. I’m not a war reporter, never have been, so I don’t worry about violent attacks. But over the years I have been subjected to various attacks. These attacks are not linked to my work, or to anything I do or say, though they pretend it is. Unscrupulous people who scapegoat others do not use the kind of logic normal people do. They scapegoat who they want to, who they dislike, or who other people dislike, thinking that if they attack the chosen scapegoat, they in turn will become popular, and more feared, which is what bullies are usually after – bullies want to be feared. I have no idea who these Isis/Isil/IS people are, and don’t know what they want. And I actually doubt they’re Muslim – their behaviour does not conform to any Islamic rules I’ve ever known. So far, they’ve been furthering the cause of anti-Muslims. However, it’s difficult to suggest political solutions when democratically elected governments – from Algeria, through Egypt, to Palestine – are routinely overthrown by Western-backed thugs.
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