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Hate crimes being ‘normalised’ in UK
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October 2019
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A report published by the police and crime committee of the London Assembly said there were 19,000 hate crime offences recorded in 2018.
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I COMMENT
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By Hannah Couchman
Advocacy & Policy Officer @Liberty UK
The fight to protect our rights from facial recognition
The ushering in of Orwellian technology is something every UK citizen should be concerned about. The High Court found that South Wales Police’s use of this tech is lawful – for now. But our client Ed Bridges will appeal this judgment. Our fight to ban the use of this authoritarian tech continues – and it’s gaining momentum. In less than a week, more than 5,000 people signed our petition calling for a government ban on this mass surveillance tool. Facial recognition works by snatching a unique facial map from every single person who passes the camera, without their consent, and matching it against a secretive “watch list”. The watch list could contain images of anyone – including people not suspected of any wrongdoing – and taken from anywhere, including social media. This tool allows the state and private companies to identify and track us – to monitor where we go and who we spend time with. As facial recognition spreads, we may decide not to attend public meetings or protests, or to avoid our local high street. And it is spreading. The police continue to “pilot” facial
recognition, which in reality amounts to operational use, and private companies are identifying and tracking people using this invasive technique – at shopping centres, football stadiums, museums, conference centres, shops and train stations. The police are even putting it on their smartphones so they can scan us wherever and whenever they choose. Facial recognition has been sold to the public as if this tech is infallible – but in reality it replicates discrimination we see elsewhere in UK policing. This means facial recognition is particularly dangerous for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities because the police have often chosen to use it in areas with predominantly BAME populations, and the tech is more likely to misidentify people of colour. Liberty is fighting for a ban against this authoritarian surveillance – and we are not alone in expressing concerns about the impact on our rights. We join a host of civil society organisations, MPs from the Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Scottish National Party, the Science and Technology Committee, the
Biometrics Commissioner, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the Information Commissioner and the Mayor of London. Despite clear arguments, the Court decided that live facial recognition does not unlawfully breach our rights. However, the Court agreed with us that the data collected by these cameras is “intrinsically private”, more like a fingerprint or DNA than it is a photograph – and that the technology interferes with the privacy rights of everyone who is scanned, regardless of whether they are on the watch list or whether their data is stored. This is mass surveillance on our streets, seriously undermining our privacy and restricting our ability to move freely around public spaces. According to the London Policing Ethics Panel, forty per cent of 16-24 year olds would completely avoid events where facial recognition was in use. We shouldn’t have to change how we live our lives to protect ourselves from unwarranted surveillance. Supporters of mass surveillance will use the threat of serious crimes to justify its use – but once this type of infrastructure is in place the use will inevitably expand. For example, the surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act were touted as provisions to prevent terrorism – but in reality were used to spy on people suspected of underage use of sun beds or allowing dogs to foul in public places. And “stop and scan” devices are being used by police to identify people in situations which don’t relate to law enforcement – despite the absence of any clear power to use policing and immigration databases for this purpose. www.pi-media.co.uk
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Hate crimes being ‘normalised’ in UK
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I October 2019
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Racist and religious hate crime in the UK capital has risen by more than 100 per cent in just seven years, according to figures by London’s Metropolitan Police. A report published by the police and crime committee of the London Assembly said there were 19,000 hate crime offences recorded in
2018, amounting to 50 offences a day, in comparison with 9,455 in 2011. Racist and religious hate crimes, which includes faith, Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes, made up 87 per cent of all hate crimes recorded by the Met last year. In 2011, there were 7,989 offences
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recorded, rising to 16,528 offences by 2018. There were also huge hikes in the number of disability, homophobic and transgender hate crimes recorded. A hate crime in the UK is defined as “any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice” based on a person’s characteristic or perceived characteristic, for example race. Iman Atta, Director of Islamophobic hate crime monitor TellMAMA, described the figures as “worrying” and said hate against Muslims was becoming “normalised”. The British Transport Police recorded 2,307 hate crimes in 2018, more than half of which had taken place on Underground tube trains. There was also a spike in the number of hate crimes reported after key events such as the 2016 Brexit referendum and the London Bridge terror attack in 2017. The assembly, an elected body which scrutinises the London’s Mayor’s office, report urged Sadiq Khan, to do more to tackle hate and intolerance in the capital. It recommended providing greater support to victims of hate crime as well as improving the level and quality of work with hate crime offenders to challenge the attitudes that underpin their hate. - National
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I October 2019
Home Office revealed to be funding lifestyle site for Muslim teens
In Case You Missed It
A Muslim online lifestyle platform targeting British teenagers is discreetly funded by the Home Office’s counter-extremism programme, the Observer has learned. The revelation about funding of the project has led to a row between its owners, a former Muslim employee and its Muslim audience. SuperSisters was built in 2015 by J-Go Media, a company of nine staff members from east London that describes itself as “a not-forprofit community group” and has two decades of experience of engaging with Muslim communities in East London. SuperSisters is promoted as a “global platform for young
Muslimahs in east London to share and create inspiring and empowering content”. But after realising that recent funding for the project was coming from Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT), an arm of the government’s counter-extremism strategy, readers expressed anger and accused its directors of betraying the Muslim community. An employee has since resigned and a recruit declined a job. Sabah Ismail, a social media manager for SuperSisters from February to August this year, said: “In my naiveity, I thought that through this ‘opportunity’ at SuperSisters, I really could help to make real
change, pushing forward a different narrative from Muslim women themselves, showing that we are empowered and multi-faceted … I realise now that with the Home Office funding the project at the root, there was no way I could do this, regardless of the content I was pushing out.” SuperSisters was conceived by J-Go in response to Shamima Begum and two other British schoolgirls running away to Syria in 2015. The project secured funding from Prevent, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office’s controversial strategy, which was set up to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent has repeatedly faced claims of state-sanctioned spying on Muslims and is currently under independent review. BSBT has awarded more than £9m to organisations since 2015. The Home Office said: “BSBT is an open and transparent programme, which supports local people in their vital work to bring communities together, promote fundamental values and tackle the spread of all extremist ideologies. “The Home Office has provided BSBT grant funding for the SuperSisters project since 2018 to provide support for Muslim women.”
White supremacist behind ‘Punish a Muslim Day’ jailed for 12 years A white supremacist behind the “Punish a Muslim Day” campaign has been jailed for 12 and a half years. David Parnham, who called himself “Muslim Slayer” and sent packages containing fake anthrax, is to serve his sentence in hospital until he is well enough to be transferred to prison. The Old Bailey heard the 36-year-old had launched several
waves of malicious letters targeting mosques, the Queen and politicians including David Cameron and Theresa May. He admitted offences including soliciting murder, encouraging crime, bomb and noxious substance hoaxes and sending letters with intent to cause distress. In early 2018, a series of typed “Punish A Muslim Day” letters were sent out to encourage violence
on the date of an American white supremacist’s birthday. The letters claimed Europe and North America was being “overrun” by Muslims and contained a makeshift scorecard for attacks ranging from pulling off women’s headscarves to acid attacks, torture, bombing a mosque and “butchering” Muslims with guns, knives and vehicles. www.pi-media.co.uk
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MCB remembers Maulana Yusuf Motala (Sahib)
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Those who say, when afflicted with calamity: “To Almighty We belong, and to Him is our return” (2:156) Maulana Yusuf Motala (19462019), may Almighty have mercy on his soul, passed away last moth in Toronto, Canada. A giant of Islam in Britain, his contribution to the spiritual and educational life of Muslims in this country, for over 40 years, cannot be overstated. He was born in Gujarat, India,
and after completing his Islamic education at the hands of the great scholar of hadith, Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya al Kandhalwi, he founded the first Islamic seminary in the UK, the Dar al Uloom in Bury in 1973, a feat for which he is best known. He went on to found another nine Islamic education institutions in the north of England, with many thousands of students having passed through those classrooms
subsequently. Maulana Motala was not only known for his erudition and knowledge, but also his deep concern and work for the Muslim community in Britain. A spiritual father to many thousands, his wisdom and presence will be sorely missed in communities throughout the world. Maulana Motala was a keen supporter of the Muslim Council of Britain in its early formation, and served as one of the first Board of Counsellors, as well as in more recent years, when he was always quick to give a warm word of encouragement for any endeavour working toward the common good. He not only supported the MCB throughout but strongly encouraged us to establish this broad based platform for the Muslim community. We pray that Almighty elevates his station and rewards him abundantly for all the good he spread and knowledge he disseminated. To Almighty we belong and to Him we return.
US, UK, France complicit in war crimes in Yemen: Amnesty
A new report by Amnesty International revealed that precisionguided bombs made by the United States have been used in Saudi-led deadly airstrikes against civilians in Yemen. In the report, the UK-based rights group said that the US, the UK and France, which provide arms to the Riyadh regime, are complicit in war crimes committed by the kingdom during the war. It said that the ordnance, manufactured by US company Raytheon, were used in a June airstrike on Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz that killed six people, including three children. The rights group analyzed photographs of the remnants of the
weapon dug out from the site of the strike by family members, concluding that the bomb that hit a residential building was a US-made 500 pound (230kg) GBU-12 Paveway II. “It is unfathomable and unconscionable that the USA continues to feed the conveyor belt of arms flowing into Yemen’s devastating conflict,” said Rasha Mohamed, Amnesty’s Yemen researcher. Mohamed lashed out at the US, the UK and France for supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition, holding them accountable for “human rights violations” and “war crimes” in Yemen. “Despite the slew of evidence that the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition
has time and again committed serious violations of international law, including possible war crimes, the USA and other arms-supplying countries such as the UK and France remain unmoved by the pain and chaos their arms are wreaking on the civilian population,” she said, according to Press TV. “Intentionally directing attacks against civilians or civilian objects, disproportionate attacks and indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians are war crimes,” she added. The UN in February warned that the situation in war-ravaged Yemen is further deteriorating as the Arab country is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.
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Leading rights group calls for inquiry over UK-US torture
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Reprieve is considering legal action after details emerged of the extent of the UK’s role in US torture programme. Newly declassified cables highlight the need for the United Kingdom to conduct an inquiry into alleged instances of torture committed by the CIA, according to UK-based rights group Reprieve. The cables, first published by The Intercept, detail the “enhanced interrogation” of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks on New
York and Washington, DC, and Abu Zabayda, the alleged senior lieutenant to Osama Bin Laden, the deceased former head of Al Qaeda. The two men were reportedly held in a secret CIA prison after their respective captures in Pakistan in 2002. “Rule out nothing whatsoever that you believe may be effective,” reads one cable to Zubaydah’s interrogators, according to Reprieve, the rights group calling for an inquiry. “Rather, come on back and we will get you the approvals.”
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There, they were subject to “enhanced interrogation” techniques, a euphemism for torture, such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation and being placed in “stress positions”, which were previously considered illegal. Zabayda was reportedly waterboarded 83 times in August 2002 alone. Videotapes of his torture were destroyed in 2005, at the behest of Jose Rodriguez, head of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. The CIA has employed ‘black sites’, or secret prisons, to detain and torture those apprehended in the US ‘War on Terror’ since 2001. These sites are reportedly found across the planet, on every continent except South America. The European Court of Human Rights rejected in 2014 an appeal from Warsaw to reconsider a ruling which affirmed Poland hosted a secret CIA prison where Zabaydah was tortured. The ruling also awarded Zabaydah and another man imprisoned there roughly $262,660. According to Reprieve, the UK’s intelligence services were aware of the torture.
‘Muslim scum’: Conservative Party members suspended for Islamophobic posts Around 20 Conservative Party members have been suspended for posting Islamophobic content online. The BBC said it had presented over 20 new cases to the party, who said all members found to have shared or supported anti-Muslim posts on Twitter and Facebook were suspended. The officials did not reveal the exact number of members suspended. The BBC was alerted to the new cases of Islamophobic content by an anonymous Twitter used and verified each one before contacting the Conservative Party. Incidents ranged from “liking” anti-Muslim statements or photos on several occasions to routine Islamophobic posts by Tory party members.
One Conservative councillor wrote on Twitter that “Islam and slavery are partners in crime”. An independent parish councillor who said he worked on Boris Johnson’s 2012 Mayoral campaign wrote: “Islam is THE religion of hate Other posts included comments such as “Muslim scum” and “I don’t want Muslims in this country”, the BBC reported. A Conservative spokesman said the party was “establishing the terms” of an investigation into the wider issue. “It’s not enough to reactively protest that we are not racist when caught. If we really care we have to be proactively anti-racist,” Baroness Warsi, the former Tory chairwoman who was the UK’s first female Muslim cabinet minister, wrote on Twitter.
She told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that the party was too slow on addressing the issue. “You said you didn’t need an inquiry; now acknowledge it,” she said. “You said you needed a definition; you now have it. What new nonsense excuse are you now going to come up with simply to avoid dealing with this issue?” More than half of the UK’s Conservative Party members believe Islam is “generally a threat” to the British way of life, a new YouGov survey revealed in July. Some 52 percent of members surveyed felt threatened by religion, while 22 percent thought it was “generally compatible”, the survey showed, amid accusations that the party has failed to address Islamophobia.
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Minority groups become bound together against Johnson’s racist rants In Case You Missed It
PM Boris Johnson’s derogatory comments on black people and Muslim women have unified minority communities in the UK, with the Commons’ first turbaned Sikh MP defending his fellow Muslim brothers and sisters. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi was cheered by fellow MPs as he challenged Boris Johnson over his 2018 Daily Telegraph column in which he said it was absolutely ridiculous that women should go around resembling “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. “When will the prime minister finally apologize for his derogatory
and racist remarks…which has led to a spike in hate crime?” Dhesi posited. The monitoring organization, Tell Mama, found that the number of incidents of anti-Muslim hate crime rose by 375% in the week after Johnson compared Muslim women who wear burqas to letterboxes. Boris Johnson, in a 2002 article, also labeled black people as ‘piccaninnies with watermelon smiles.’ Reports show that racism, and race-related hate crime, has increased since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Racist groups have
taken cue from members of the farright Conservative Party, who are spreading vitriolic remarks against minority groups. In a stroke of incredible irony, however, blatant racist remarks made by the sitting Prime Minister have emboldened the minority community to defend one another. “For those of us who from a young age have had to endure and face up to being called names such as towel-head, or Taliban, or coming from bongo-bongo land, we can fully appreciate the hurt and pain of already vulnerable Muslim women when they are described as looking like bank robbers and letterboxes,” Mr. Dhesi said during parliamentary proceedings. Mr. Dhesi asked when Johnson was going to order an inquiry into Islamophobia within the Conservative Party, adding it was “something he and his Chancellor promised on national television”. In the face of the alarming rise in Islamophobia, white supremacy, and virtually every other form of bigotry targeting every minority community in the UK, it is not ridiculous to say that we are all in this together, and that the future of our country depends on how we respond to this moment.
UK-Qatar relationship ‘going from strength to strength’, says PM PM Boris Johnson welcomed the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, at 10 Downing Street last month. The two leaders said their countries had a very strong relationship and pledged to seek to make it stronger still. The UK’s relationship with Qatar is going from “strength to strength”, Johnson has said. “The whole of this capital city is landmarked with symbols of that
relationship, I’m proud to say, and in the whole of the UK,” Johnson added. Qatar’s Emir said he was “excited” to meet with Johson, in hope to bolster the “very strong relationship” which exists between the two nations. Both leaders also discussed the latest developments in the Middle East amid rising tensions in the Gulf. The latest escalation include
Saudi Arabia blaming Iran for attacks on two Aramco oil installations as well as a string of recent assaults on shipping in sensitive Gulf waters, all denied by Iran. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar over allegations that it supports “terrorist” groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Doha has rejected the allegations.
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Two million children out of school in war torn Yemen – UN
Two million children are out of school in war-torn Yemen, a fourth of whom have dropped out since the conflict escalated in March 2015, the UN children’s agency said. The education of a further 3.7 million children is at risk as teachers’ salaries have not been paid in more than two years, UNICEF said in a statement.
“Violence, displacement and attacks on schools are preventing many children from accessing school,” said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, a UNICEF representative in Yemen. One in five schools in the country can no longer be used as a direct result of the conflict that has devastated Yemen’s already fragile education system, the UN agency
says. “Children out of school face increased risks of all forms of exploitation, including being forced to join the fighting, child labour, and early marriage,” Nyanti said. “They lose the opportunity to develop and grow in a caring and stimulating environment, ultimately becoming trapped in a life of poverty and hardship.” Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in March 2015 in support of the beleaguered government after the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured the capital Sanaa. The fighting has displaced millions and left 24.1 million — more than two-thirds of the population — in need of aid. According to UNICEF, 1.8 million children under the age of five are suffering from severe malnutrition. The UN has described Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. www.pi-media.co.uk
ICC prosecutor to reconsider decision on Gaza flotilla
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided that the ICC prosecutor must reconsider the decision on whether or not to start an investigation into the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident. “Appeals Chamber nevertheless maintained that the ‘ultimate decision’ as to whether or not to initiate an investigation is that of the Prosecutor,” ICC said on its Twitter account. The prosecutor must reconsider the decision by December 2, it added.
The case began in 2013 when the Indian Ocean nation of Comoros, whose flag Mavi Marmara vessel sailed under, asked an ICC prosecutor to investigate the deadly raid. The ICC prosecutor has previously decided not to investigate the attack repeatedly. One of the Mavi Marmara attorneys, Gulden Sonmez said that they are happy about the Appeals Chamber’s decision. “We hope that the Israeli criminals will be brought before justice at this court,” she said.
“All the victims and families of the martyrs await decision of the prosecutor to start an investigation,” Sonmez stressed. Six civilian ships in a Turkish aid flotilla were attacked by Israeli forces in international waters on May 31, 2010 as they tried to break Israel’s crippling siege of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turkish nationals and an American of Turkish origin were killed in the incident and 30 others injured, including one who succumbed to his injuries nearly four years after the incident.
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UN refugee agency regrets US ruling on asylum applications
The United Nations refugee agency said a US Supreme Court order curbing asylum applications at the Mexican border could hurt people fleeing violence and persecution who are entitled to protection. The court said the Trump administration’s rule — which requires most immigrants to seek asylum in other countries on their route to the United States — could go into effect as litigation challenging its legality continues. All people must be able to access full asylum procedures and international protection, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told a
news briefing. “We regret the impact that the implementation will have on asylum seekers. We reiterate that any person fleeing violence or persecution must be able to access full and effective asylum procedures and international protection,” Mahecic said. The agency was concerned about the fate of Central Americans, including families and unaccompanied children, who are on the move in need of safe haven, he said. “It is imperative that those people be identified quickly and afforded the safety and assistance that they need
and they deserve, including the right to seek asylum,” Mahecic said. Mahecic, asked whether the ruling and policy was in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which the United States has ratified, said that the Supreme Court did not address the substance of the policy, pending lower court proceedings. “So it would be premature to speculate,” he said. ‘Over 36,500 believed to be on border area’ The Mexican government protested and Central American migrants feared deportation back to their violent homelands after the US Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump to slam the door on asylum-seekers at the US-Mexican border. Tens of thousands of migrants and would-be asylum seekers are gathered on the US-Mexico border, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. “Just over 36,500 are believed to be on the border area, they remain in Mexico,” IOM spokesman Joel Millman said. “But of course we don’t know how many of those are formal asylum seekers,” he added.
International community must act for safe return of Syrians: Erdogan Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated the urgency to create a safe zone inside Syria to house refugees who have been displaced by the bloody civil war. The international community including the United States, Germany, France and Russia must play their part in coming forward with the funds and support for the plan to materialise at the earliest, he told journalists on sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. “We want to save these refugees
from shelters, and tents,” he said. During the UN meeting, Erdogan had already pressed the international community to act and help reduce the suffering of Syrians affected by the civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. His comments come as the United States said it has evidence the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad used chemical weapons including chlorine against the opposition-held areas in May. Turkey’s proposed the safe zone in
northern Syria is 480 kilometres long and 30km deep. If all goes according to plan, it can help resettle 1 to 2 million refugees. Erdogan has proposed housing facilities for the people in the safe zone. But the reconstruction of such a size requires international assistance, he says. “If this support comes, we can take the burden regarding the construction and complete the work quickly.” www.pi-media.co.uk
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Alaska reaches settlement in case brought by Muslim inmates
The Alaska Department of Corrections agreed to policy changes to accommodate Muslim inmates who wish to practice their religion, settling a lawsuit brought last year. A federal judge Friday signed the agreement in a case brought on behalf of two Muslim inmates by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which argued that meals provided to the men during the holy month of Ramadan did not meet caloric standards under federal health guidelines. They also said the meals were cold when others received hot meals and sometimes contained pork at odds with their
faith. The lawsuit also said the department had not allowed Muslims to perform Friday religious services or hold study groups. Terms of the agreement call for the department to provide inmates fasting during Ramadan at least 3,000 average daily calories and at least two hot meals without pork. Officials are not allowed to remove inmates on the list for a Ramadan diet for disciplinary or other reasons. Ramadan is marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset. The settlement calls for meals to be provided between sunset and dawn.
Muslim inmates also will be allowed to participate in religious services, prayers and religious study groups. The department agreed to pay $102,500 in damages, costs and attorneys’ fees, AP reported. The agreement states the department has already adopted some of the provisions and will take steps to formally adopt others they have moved to implement, primarily related to religious gatherings. The Council on AmericanIslamic Relations also will provide free videoconference religious sensitivity training for department superintendents, chaplains and grievance officers. Plaintiffs’ attorney Gadeir Abbas said that with these policies, Alaska would be a model for how prisons and jails should accommodate Muslims in their facilities. “That’s to be commended, it really is,” he said. “It’s a positive development for the state of Alaska and for the Muslims that are incarcerated. There’s few places where a person’s faith is more important than when their freedom is taken away,” he said.
A human rights group called on the Chinese government to release an undetermined number of Uighur children being arbitrarily held in so-called “child welfare” institutions and boarding schools in Xinjiang. In a statement, the New Yorkbased Human Rights Watch (HRW) said “Chinese authorities have housed countless children whose parents are detained or in exile in state-run child welfare institutions and boarding schools without parental consent or access.” An estimated one million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims are held in Chinese political reeducation camps in Xinjiang. HRW says an
additional unknown number are held in prisons and other detention centers. The rights group’s China director, Sophie Richardson, said “The Chinese government’s forced separation of children is perhaps the cruelest element of its oppression in Xinjiang. Children should be either immediately returned to the custody of relatives in China or allowed to join their parents outside the country.” According to HRW, Xinjiang government documents do not indicate whose consent is needed for children to be held in institutions,
which government agencies make decisions about removals, or “whether there are procedures for determining consent or challenges to such determinations,” Time reported. It added that it was “deeply concerned about practices in these facilities that appear to deny children their basic rights and cultural heritage,” pointing out that the children were taught in Chinese instead of their own language, and made to “sing and dance to propagandistic songs.” Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs and other Muslims in the country has been strongly condemned.
Rights group calls for release of Uighur children in China
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Thai PM says police monitoring of Muslim students needed for security
Thailand’s prime minister defended police for requesting information about minority Muslim students from universities around the country after the move was called discriminatory and illegal. Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha said the police request, which follows a series of bomb blasts in the capital Bangkok in August blamed on Muslim suspects, was needed to build a national security database. An official letter from police, shared online by former rights commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit, asked a university to supply information about the numbers, place of origin, sect affiliation and other details about Muslim-organized student groups. The name of the university was blotted out.
“This is an interference to personal rights and a discrimination based on religion,” Angkhana said, adding freedom of religion and the right to privacy were guaranteed by the Thai constitution. About 90 percent of Thais are Buddhist, though Muslims are a majority in three southern provinces bordering Malaysia. Prayuth said the move was necessary. “The police already pointed out this is for the creation of a database on intelligence,” Prayuth said. “No rights have been breached. We cannot manage anything if we don’t have data.” Muslim students said the police request was discriminatory. “We want the police to reconsider
President Donald Trump has said the cost of running Guantánamo is “crazy,” following a New York Times report that estimated the bill for the prison camp at $13 million per detainee, per year. Trump told reporters: “I think it’s crazy. It costs a fortune to operate.” He added that his administration would consider alternatives. The cost per prisoner at maximum
security prisons on the US mainland is less than $100,000 per year. Trump ran for president on a promise to keep Guantánamo open, and in January 2018 signed an executive order to that effect. Commanders have been instructed to draw up plans for the detention camp lasting until 2043, at a projected cost of $13.5 billion. Of the 40 remaining detainees,
this, the university should be a space where students can express their views freely and their rights are protected,” said Ashraf Awae, president of the Muslim Students Federation of Thailand. A police source said the request for information on Muslims was linked to the attacks on August 2 that wounded four people when six small bombs and six incendiary devices went off in Bangkok, which was hosting a major international meeting. Three people were arrested and 11 other suspects remain at large. All are Muslim Malays from southern Thailand. “We are worried about those illintended people who are infiltrating university students,” said a police source who didn’t want to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media. Similar letters were sent to many Thai education institutions as part of a routine update of an existing intelligence database, police said in a statement. Some universities with a large population of Muslim students were disturbed by the letter. Wuthisak Lapcharoensap, president of Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, said police should reconsider their request. “I have not received the letter yet but if it comes, I would not be able to comply,” Wuthisak said.
Trump: Cost of Gitmo is “crazy”
31 have never been charged with a crime. Five have been unanimously cleared for transfer by six US government agencies, but remain stuck, apparently as a result of an unofficial administration policy that there should be “no further releases from Gitmo“. www.pi-media.co.uk
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600,000 Rohingya still in Myanmar at serious risk of genocide’: UN
Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar still face a “serious risk of genocide”, UN investigators said, warning the repatriation of a million already driven from the country by the army remains “impossible”. The fact-finding mission to Myanmar, set up by the Human Rights Council, last year branded the army operations in 2017 as “genocide” and called for the prosecution of top generals, including army chief Min Aung Hlaing. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled burning villages, bringing accounts
of murder, rape and torture over the border to sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh, where survivors of previous waves of persecution already languish. But in a damning report, the United Nations team said the 600,000 Rohingya still inside Myanmar’s Rakhine state remain in deteriorating and “deplorable” conditions. “Myanmar continues to harbor genocidal intent and the Rohingya remain under serious risk of genocide,” the investigators said in their final report on Myanmar,
presented in Geneva. The country is “denying wrongdoing, destroying evidence, refusing to conduct effective investigations and clearing, razing, confiscating and building on land from which it displaced Rohingya”, it said. Rohingya were living in “inhumane” conditions, the report continued, adding over 40,000 structures had been destroyed in the crackdown. The mission reiterated calls for the UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or to set up a tribunal, like for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It said it had a confidential list of over 100 names, including officials, suspected of being involved in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, in addition to the six generals named publicly last year. The report also repeated calls for foreign governments and companies to sever all business ties with the military, calling for a “moratorium” on investment and development assistance in Rakhine state.
Guinness record holder aims to create longest handwritten Quran
Cartoonist and Guinness record holder M Dileef, who is based in Kerala, India, is on another Guinness mission with an attempt to create the world’s longest handwritten Quran ever. School of Bhagavad Gita Trust chairman Swami Sandeepananda Giri inaugurated the exhibition of the handwritten Quran, of which 300 meters of the proposed 1,000m (1km) has been completed. The width of the canvas is the same as that of an A3 size paper. Dileef said his effort was also to promote calligraphy. “Calligraphy is an art form which was derived from Quran but is often considered as an underrated art form. Calligraphy arts
do not have a market or exposure in Kerala. Through this, I aim to highlight the beauty of calligraphy and at the same time share light on the humane aspects like science, arts, music to the public. There is a misunderstanding that Quran belongs to one community but if you go through Quran, you can understand that it actually tells us the importance of unity between humans,” said Dileef. It took 10 hours of work daily for seven months for him to complete 300m of the canvas. He hopes to complete the work in three years. “In today’s India, a swami being invited to inaugurate an exhibition of an attempt to create the longest
Quran can only be witnessed in our state,” Sandeepananda Giri said. Dileef is a previous Guinness record holder for creating the world’s largest badminton racket in 2017, which measures in at 18ft height and 6ft width. He also holds Limca & Indian Book of Records for largest caricature of Mahatma Gandhi which measures 3,333ft. Dileef also holds the records for world’s largest ridable bicycle and has also presented the longest pen ever made in Kerala in 2018. Santhi Samithi general convener Shaheer Maulavi presided over the ceremony. www.pi-media.co.uk
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www.pi-media.co.uk I October 2019
NZ urges world to learn lessons of Christchurch Mosque attacks
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern highlighted the way people came together in the traumatic aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks to issue a plea to world leaders to build inclusive, compassionate societies. In delivering New Zealand’s national statement in the United Nations general debate, Ardern said that New Zealand was well known to the world for rolling green hills, warm hospitality and hobbits. But now it was also known for the shootings on March 15 that took 51 innocent lives and devastated a nation. “There is no changing a nation’s history, but we can choose how it
defines us. And in Aotearoa New Zealand, the people who lined up outside of mosques with flowers, the young people who gathered spontaneously in parks and open spaces in a show of solidarity, the thousands who stopped in silence to acknowledge the call to prayer seven days later, and the Muslim community who showed only love. “These are the people who collectively decided that New Zealand would not be defined by an act of brutality and violence, but instead by compassion and empathy.” One of the hard questions she faced in the aftermath came from a young boy who was standing outside
a mosque in Wellington days after the March 15 attack. “He was shy, almost retreating towards a barrier ... He didn’t say his name or even say hello. He simply whispered, ‘Will I be safe now?’ “My fear is that, as a leader of a proudly independent nation, this is one thing I cannot achieve alone. Not anymore.” In the weeks after the attack, Ardern pushed for countries and tech companies to work together to stop the way online platforms were used to weaponize the video footage. Acts of discrimination can have a global reach on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Ardern said that social media users should speak with the responsibility of someone who knows a small child might be listening. “Whether it is acts of violence, language intended to incite fear of religious groups, or assumptions about ethnicities to breed distrust and racism – these actions and utterances are as globalized as the movement of goods and services. The collaborative work led to the Christchurch Call to Action, which now has buy-in from 48 countries, eight online platforms and three organizations. “Neither New Zealand nor any other country could make these changes on their own. The tech companies couldn’t either.”
Algeria to hold presidential election on December 12
Algeria is to hold a presidential election on December 12, five months into a political vacuum since longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass protests, his interim successor announced.
“I have decided... that the date of the presidential election will be Thursday, December 12,” said Abdelkader Bensalah, who is precluded from standing himself, in a televised address to the nation. The announcement comes after
army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah, seen as Algeria’s strongman since the fall of the ailing Bouteflika, insisted that polls be held by the end of 2019, despite ongoing protests demanding the creation of new institutions ahead of any elections.
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Muslim Americans testify on effects of Trump’s travel ban
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I October 2019
Speaking before a United States congressional panel, Ismail Alghazali, a Yemeni American, described how President Donald Trump’s travel ban has prevented his Yemeni wife and two small children from joining him in the US. “I have never even met my daughter. I have never held her in my arms. I’ve only seen her through photos and videos,” Alghazali, 26, told a joint hearing of House Judiciary and Oversight subcommittees. Alghazali went to the US as a child in 2000 and makes a living from his job at a bodega in New York City. He said his wife should have been eligible for a waiver to the ban, but after what he said was a five-minute meeting with a consular officer, her visa was denied. Now, his young family is stuck in war-torn Yemen. For the first time, Muslim Americans had an opportunity to testify before a congressional
hearing in the US House of Representatives on the effects of Trump’s travel ban, which targeted several Muslim-majority countries. The ban at present applies to people coming from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea, as well as to government officials from Venezuela. Abdollah Dehzangi, an Iranian and legal permanent resident of the US, described waiting three years to get a visa for his Iranian wife. Dehzangi, who holds a doctorate degree, had moved to the US in 2015 to do research in bioinformatics at an American University. He and his wife both left Iran more than 10 years ago and had lived in Malaysia since. “Our dreams were all shattered after the announcement of the Muslim ban,” Dehzangi, age 36, said. His wife’s visa was denied and she has been living since in Australia. “Our hope was to move to the
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United States to pursue our careers and build our families,” he said. “I am being denied that love and future. Many more have similar stories, similar hardship, similar heartbreak and sadness.” The Democrat-led House of Representatives is considering legislation that would reverse Trump’s policy. The No Ban Act introduced by Representative Judy Chu in April has 170 co-sponsors. The bill would impose limits on the president’s ability to restrict entry into the US of foreigners. “Singling these people from countries, these residents who are primarily Muslims, as the basis for assessing threat is essentially irrational,” said Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat chairman of the subcommittee. “There are tremendous hardships that being inflicted on Americans and their families and it has nothing to do with national security,” Lofgren said. Trump administration officials appearing before the congressional panel sought to defend the policy in the face of evidence of the travel ban’s continuing discriminatory effects on Muslim Americans and their families. Under procedures of the ban, individuals from the listed countries cannot obtain visas to come to the US unless they can demonstrate hardship, their entry to the US would not pose a national security threat and their entry would be in the national interest of the US. Only five percent of visa applicants are granted waivers, according to US government data. www.pi-media.co.uk
Far-Right extremists target Dutch Mosque A group of far-right extremists targeted a mosque in the Netherlands’ Almere city in an Islamophobic attack, media reports said. The extremists hung banners bearing anti-Islam on the Abou Bakr Assadik Mosque’s walls. “Islam must be stopped,” “No to mosques,” read some of the banners.
The far-right “Rechts in Verzet (Right in Resistance)” movement claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement they shared on their social media accounts. The administration of the mosque also shared photos of the banners on their social media account, with a statement saying: “Nothing can be achieved in
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this way. Completely unfair and childish.” The same group had also claimed responsibility for a similar attack in January 2018, in which anti-Islam banners were hung in front of the Emir Sultan Mosque in Amsterdam along with a headless model. www.pi-media.co.uk
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www.pi-media.co.uk I October 2019
German woman boxer’s fight to wear hijab in the ring
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Berlin boxer Zeina Nassar’s fighting spirit has won her plenty of titles, but her battle to wear the hijab in the ring has also made her an equal opportunity champion. The 21-year-old, who discovered female boxing by watching online videos as a teenager, is a German amateur featherweight champion and dares to dream of Olympic glory. Her path so far took all the determination she could muster, Nassar told AFP, sipping an iced coffee at a cafe in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, where she grew up. “It was as if I had to prove twice as much because not only am I a woman who boxes, but I also wear the headscarf,” she said, during a break between gruelling training sessions. “In the end it made me stronger,” she laughed, her made-up face known to countless Instagram fans framed by a pastel-coloured floral headscarf, sunglasses perched on top. Next year’s Tokyo Olympics and then the Paris Games in 2024 “are my great dream, my great goal,” smiled the young woman. That dream only came within reach in February, when the International Boxing Association (AIBA) amended its rules to allow Muslim boxers to wear a hijab and fully cover their bodies in the ring. When it comes to qualifying,
“now the prerequisites are the same for all,” said Nassar, who in training and in competition wears the head covering as well as a full-length top and leggings. “Only sporting performance should count. We must not be reduced to our external appearance.” Her list of achievements already includes six Berlin titles in the featherweight category, and the 2018 German Championship title. In 24 official fights, Nassar, who weighs 57 kilos (125 pounds), recorded 18 victories, including one by KO, which is rare in this category. “My boxing style is very unconventional but I’m super fast. It’s my strength,” she said, mimicking a few uppercuts and hooks. “For my opponents it’s very unpleasant to box against me,” she laughed. But for many years, the education and sociology student could not compete in international fights because of her attire. This year, the German Boxing Federation, which had changed its own rules in 2013, put forward Nassar for the European Under-22 Championships, which however barred her due to her outfit. Nassar, who also speaks Arabic and regularly travels to Lebanon, her parents’ country of origin, said it never occurred to her to take off her hijab for boxing.
“Why should I have done that?” she said. “For me it has always been clear that I would fight with my headscarf.” In Germany, the wearing of the headscarf tends to be widely accepted on the grounds of religious freedom. The Berliner’s Olympic ambitions, like those of other sportswomen wearing the headscarf, run up against critics who brandish a rule for the Olympics prohibiting the display of any political, religious or racial symbols. “Even if the boxing association, like most federations, has given in, the Olympic Charter has not changed,” argued Annie Sugier, president of the International Women’s Rights League.. www.pi-media.co.uk
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F1 Mercedes team confirm four staff sacked for bullying Muslim colleague
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team have sacked four members of staff for racist bullying. The team launched an internal investigation into racism at their Northamptonshire headquarters in July and concluded that the four men had breached their diversity and equality policy.
“Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd confirms that four individuals were dismissed from the company on 2 August 2019,” a team statement read. “These dismissals followed an internal investigation that confirmed breaches of our diversity and equality policy. We condemn this behaviour
in the strongest terms and acted immediately upon the complaint. “We value the diversity of our employees and it is a source of strength for our team. Our working environment is based on appreciation and mutual respect.” The Sun newspaper reported that the sacked workers put up a poll during Ramadan on which they guessed when a co-worker would break his fast. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who is the only black driver in Formula One, has often called for greater diversity in the sport. After racist taunts were aimed at England footballers in Montenegro in March, the world champion condemned it ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. “It is crazy to think that at this time in the world, racism is still such a prominent thing,” Hamilton said. “It is really there, all around the world, and a real issue, which is sad to see. It doesn’t seem like it is going to migrate much over the next few years.”
UEFA bars fans from 3 Euro 2020 qualifiers for racism UEFA has punished three countries for racist behavior by fans at European Championship qualifying games, ordering them to play in empty stadiums. Romania, Hungary and Slovakia will all serve the punishments during their next home qualifier in October. The visiting teams will be Norway, Azerbaijan and Wales,
respectively. UEFA says Romania’s federation faces a second stadium closure during a one-year probationary period. Romania was also charged with other fan disorder during a 2-1 loss against Spain this month, including fans on the pitch stopping play. UEFA imposed a fine of 83,000
euros ($91,200). Hungary and Slovakia were sanctioned by racist behavior by fans when the neighboring countries played in Budapest on Sept. 9. UEFA fined Hungary 67,125 euros ($73,750) for a range of other offenses, and ordered Slovakia’s federation to pay 20,000 euros ($22,000).
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Eight Habits of Unhappy People
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www.pi-media.co.uk
I October 2019
By Moulana Khalid Dhorat
Do you have a friend or a relative whom you love, but would rather avoid? We all do. There are some people who exude warmth, pleasantness, and positivity whenever you meet them. When you leave their company, you leave a little wiser and a little happier. But you find the occasional grumpy person who is always whining, always complaining, and always blaming others for their unhappiness or problems. You will tolerate them once, twice, or thrice, but thereafter, you instinctively avoid them like the plague! Now I’m not saying that people don’t have problems. We all do, but the trick is in how we handle them.
Problems don’t vanish by speaking about them to all and sundry, but it can become bearable, maybe even a challenge, for those who have the correct attitude to life. Problems breed unhappiness, and unhappiness do make our lives difficult. However, problems can be successfully managed and need not progress to clinical depression and chronic unhappiness. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain, while unhappiness is a disposition that is often acquired through how we choose to live our lives. Both can be safely treated – there is no burden beyond our reach for which one needs to become depressed or suicidal.
Here are 8 habits that can cause unhappiness, all of which can be avoided. 1. Regretting the Past and Fretting about the Future: Regret is not only useless, it can be extremely harmful. You can not turn back the hands of the clock! Research indicate that repetitive, negative thoughts about decisions made in the past is often a precursor to chronic stress and depression. According to many life coaches, there are four ways to cope with regret: (1) learn from our mistakes, but don’t dwell on them, (2) If nothing can be changed about the situation, let it go, (3) Make sure too much
www.pi-media.co.uk I October 2019 self-blame is not being undertaken, society - one where we are and reframe the situation more constantly bombarded with positively, and use it as a stepping advertisements of the latest car, stone towards your future success. gadget, or appliance; all promising As the adage goes: “When life throws an easier, more fulfilling existence. lemons at you, make lemonade.” Don’t believe it for a second. While Also, we can only plan our purchasing a new product may future in a limited way, but we have provide a needed emotional boost, it absolutely no control on how it will doesn’t last. Ever heard of the term unfold. What we can do is to live “buyer’s remorse”? It exists for a fully in the present, fully exercising reason. Instead of seeking fulfillment our God-given abilities and talents, in things, seek out something that and trusting God all the way. Face doesn’t involve swiping that plastic – difficulties as they arise, but don’t exercising, reading, sightseeing, etc. anticipate them and agonize about – anything that brings satisfaction them from before. Enjoy the without the debt. You don’t need to beautiful things in life and experience be in competition with the Jone’s! them in the present. We can’t allow fear of the unknown to cripple our 4. Being Overly Critical of Oneself quality of life. Fear is a negative and of Others: thought process, many of which do Self-worth is an essential component not even materialize! of our happiness. Feeling good about ourselves is a right that we all 2. Chronic Complaining: need to uphold, even though we are Successful people do not complain. imperfect. We should thus realize They rather brainstorm and maintain that when mistakes are made by a cool head during the storm. They ourselves or others, accept them, also know who to bounce off their and move on - don’t engage in problems with, and they are not any negative self-talk and reduce our own Tom, Dick and Haroon. The smile self-worth. Asking “why me,” will not never leaves their faces. On the only frustrate you, but increase your other hand, unhappy people always anxiety. Simply accept and move have something negative to say, on gracefully. Further, respect the even on happy occasions when all inherent differences of others and those around them are happy! The recognize their right to live happily bottom line: we all experience issues and without undue criticism. in life - whether fair or unfair, wanted or unwanted,- but we need to seek 5. Negative Addictions: solutions to our problems instead of Unfortunately, many good people moaning and groaning about them. have met a sad end through addictive This leads to nowhere, and even loss habits developed during periods of of valuable friends and family. extreme emotional stress, especially When we experience through dependence on alcohol and unhappiness and discontent, our first drugs. Instead of seeking solace reaction is almost entirely emotional. in religion and fulfilling their divine We blow things completely out of purpose of life to the greatest extent proportion. Instead, just take a step possible, they took a narrow and back (take a few days to cool down selfish view of life in which they only too), look at the problem objectively, mattered. We need to realize that we and focus on a solution! are not in control of the vehicle called life, and we are not alone in this 3. Living beyond your Means: vehicle of life. When we start caring We currently live in a materialistic for our passengers, we suddenly see
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6. Eating Poorly: Ingesting nutritionally-bankrupt food, especially sugar and carbs, is all about immediate gratification. Eating poorly can result in bad health, weight gain, depression, lack of energy and decreased productivity. On the other hand, having a wellbalanced diet results in an entirely opposite effect – more energy, a healthy weight, mental alertness, and increased productivity. Eat right, look great, and feel great. 7. Delaying one’s Goals and Dreams: It’s relatively easy and effortless to get caught up in the drudgery of life: working, eating, sleeping, and paying the bills. Many do not even afford themselves the luxury of taking off a day or two for doing something fun or relaxing. By not directing our talents and passions toward a positive and tangible goal, we potentially discard something great before its realization. We never live up to our full potential, and always have regrets inn our old age. The hardest part of living out our goals and dreams is taking the first step. Draw up a game plan, and see your life blossoming in unimaginable ways! 8. Holding Grudges: Similar to other negative emotions, hatred and animosity is a needless weight on our backs. We are all witness to the negative and oppressive behaviors of others, and we can become (sometimes justifiably) angered as a result. But remember: this isn’t about their oppressive or ignorant behavior, or whether they have reformed or not; it’s about your own happiness. Either forgive, forget, or ignore… and move on with your life, or carry a weight on your back which will eventually sink you into the ground. The choice is yours.
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