The decision to grant planning permission to build a new mosque in Dudley has come after more than a decade of wrangling in the West Midlands town. And the division caused by the arguments has proved an…
Why must Muslim women prove they aren’t terrorists with a scarf?
Johnny Green/PA Archive
For some time, my research has shown that Muslim women who wear the hijab or other types of Muslim attire are the most likely to become victims of street-level Islamophobia. The explanation is simple…
Religious leaders have come together to promote community harmony, but some political and media agendas have encouraged Islamophobia.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Many incidents of violence and harassment directed at Australian Muslims have been reported recently. These are visible confirmation of fears expressed by their community, that support for the government’s…
When a mosque is spray-painted with the word ‘Evil’ following last week’s raids, it’s a sign the community is getting the wrong message from the anti-terrorism campaign.
AAP/Matt Jacob
While Australia has rightly joined the international fight to bring down Islamic State (IS) terrorists, at home its anti-terror campaign is fuelling more problems. For example, following high-profile anti-terror…
EDL affiliates are seeking new outlets.
EPA/Tal Cohen
A UK government adviser has suggested that at least five new groups have emerged within the past month to stake a claim to the far-right in the UK. And according to that adviser, the catalyst for their…
The hijab isn’t a symbol of oppression for many women.
diegofornero
Terrorism, oppression, fundamentalism and victimhood are only a few of the buzzwords that inevitably accompany discussions about Islamic headgear. From burqa-bans to atrocities against women in some Islamic…
On 1 July, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the French legislation banning the face veil in public space. As Frederick Cowell has observed, this will keep the French government from criticising…
Al-Furqan Muslim school in Birmingham has been grant-maintained since 1998.
David Jones/PA Archive
It would take a “bold secretary of state” to argue for more faith schools in Britain, wrote Newsnight’s policy editor Chris Cook commenting on the so-called Trojan Horse storm about Islamist extremists…
Public attacks. May and Gove have denied a rift.
PA/PA Archive
Allegations of an “Islamist” plot to infiltrate and take over schools in Birmingham at the centre of Operation Trojan Horse are looking increasingly thin. But they have caused a very public row between…
Sociopolitical marginalisation is a major factor in the decision to join far-right extremist and Islamist groups in Britain…
The rise of Islamophobia in Australia has left Muslims vulnerable as anti-discrimination laws cover racial but not religious vilification.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The markers of identification of communities have clearly moved from just race, colour and national or ethnic origin to include religion. In the case of Muslims, their faith and culture and all that it…
Regents Park Community School and Nursery in Birmingham is part of the investigation.
Joe Giddens/PA
It is believed that at least 25 schools in Birmingham are now being investigated in response to allegations of what the media and city council are routinely describing as “takeover” bids by “hardline Muslims…
A political party inspired by controversial Dutch MP Geert Wilders is set to launch next year.
AAP/Julian Smith
News that an anti-Islam lobby group, the Q Society of Australia, plans to launch a political party to contest the next federal election should be cause for alarm. Based on the principles of Dutch MP Geert…
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University