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SHAFAQNA – In an interview conducted in the sidelines of Yemen conference this August 20-21, 2016Andrew Smith slammed the UK govement for providing the Saudi regime with military equipment, training, and intelligence against Yemen. “The UK has been absolutely central to bombing of Yemen. It has provided training, weaponry and uncritical political support to Saudi regime. It supported this war on Yemen in every possible way – it has even stood by as Saudi Arabia organized a humanitarian blockade. That humanitarian catastrophe has been supported and fuelled with British weapons and political support. Since the bombing began the UK has sold £3.3 billion worth of weapons to the kingdom.This inc...

SHAFAQNA-Nearly 7,000 Islamophobic tweets were posted in English every day last month in response to terrorist attacks and the failed coup attempt in Turkey, research has found. The Centre for the Analysis for Social Media at London-based think-tank Demos said there were “significant spikes in the use of anti-Islamic language on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of news events, particularly terrorist attacks”. In a report published on Thursday, Demos said nearly a quarter of a million English-language tweets were sent from around the world in July, an average of 6,943 per day. “This is the highest monthly average since measurements began at the end of February,” the report said. “However, ...

SHAFAQNA-Nearly 7,000 Islamophobic tweets were posted in English every day last month in response to terrorist attacks and the failed coup attempt in Turkey, research has found. The Centre for the Analysis for Social Media at London-based think-tank Demos said there were “significant spikes in the use of anti-Islamic language on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of news events, particularly terrorist attacks”. In a report published on Thursday, Demos said nearly a quarter of a million English-language tweets were sent from around the world in July, an average of 6,943 per day. “This is the highest monthly average since measurements began at the end of February,” the report said. “However, ...

SHAFAQNA –Sickening racist abuse regularly posted by warped trolls on Facebook — worsened since the Brexit vote — depicts ethnic minorities as “scum”, “rapists” and “terrorists” and orders them to leave the UK, Daily Star Online has found.The UK voted to leave the EU in June.But last year net migration to the UK rose to around 333,000 — the second-highest figure ever.Since the votemigrants and specific religious groups — notably Muslims — have suffered shocking abuse online.And social media has represented these minorities as threats to national security and criminals for years, it has emerged.It comes days aftera nationwide #BlackAugust campaign raising awareness of racism blocked roads, in...

SHAFAQNA –Trowbridge Mosque a town in England opened its doors to the public over the weekend in hope of increasing understanding of Islam and to address any misconceptions about the religion. The monthly meeting, which started late last year, has seen a steady number of residents make their way through the doors of the mosque in Longfield Road with many asking questions about how the religion is often seen linked to recent terror attacks. Farzana Saker, a volunteer and member of the mosque said she hopes that more people visit so that misunderstandings regarding Islam and Muslims can be put right. “The aim of the open day is to provide an opportunity for people to ask questions about the m...

SHAFAQNA –UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is being urged to publicly reject Saudi Arabian “propaganda” claims conceing three young men on death row, amid fears the protestors are set to be executed in the country – despite being convicted as juveniles. Following recent activity and comments on influential Saudi Arabian Twitter profiles, human rights groups are growing increasingly conceed over the future of Ali al-Nimr, who was sentenced to death for his role in anti-govement protests in 2012 — while he was just 17 years old. Recent comments have suggested Ali al-Nimr could be facing imminent execution, while two other men, Dawoud al Marhoon and Abdullah al Zaher — who were 17 and 15 at ...

In this photo taken Nov. 21, 2014, Sheik Isa Qassim, Bahrain's top Shiite Muslim cleric, speaks during midday prayers Friday, in the village of Diraz, Bahrain. Bahrainx92s leading Shiite opposition group says security forces have raided the home of the countryx92s most prominent Shiite cleric. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) Shafaqna –UK Sui and Shia leaders issued ajoint statement on targeting of Ayatullah Shaykh Isa al-Qasim and denouncedthe revocation of the citizenship of opponents and curtailing of religious freedoms asrepressive and authoritarian, which will exacerbate sectarian tensions. According to Shafaqna the statement reads: starting today, the high criminal court in the Kingdom of Bahra...

SHAFAQNA –Could it be that France has just blown the whistle on Salafism, and finally anchored its counter-terrorism narrative against not Islam, but the devolution which has worked to hijack its Scriptures and redact its principles? France it seems has woken up from its political stupor – and not a moment too late. Faced with the abomination it allowed in – radicalism – the French govement had no other choice but to reassess its counter-terror position. Bearing in mind that France has rubbed shoulders with those powers which from the shadows continue to wield Terror as an asymmetrical weapon of colonialism, the French Republic is likely set for a grand political re-alignment. At this point ...

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses a news conference following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Haibal Hanschke SHAFAQNA –Since entering Downing Street as Britain’s new prime minister last week, Theresa May has quickly dispelled hopes that the UK might change its mind about leaving the European Union. “Brexit means Brexit,” she said in her inaugural speech. She added later thatBritain will take the time it needs to invoke the now notorious Article 50 of Europe’s de facto constitution goveing a member’s divorce from the EU. Both May and her new minister for Brexit have said Article 50 would not be triggered befor...

SHAFAQNA –A British parliamentary committee says Saudi Arabia and other Arab states must prevent their rich ruling families from funding the Daesh terrorist group. In a report on the state of Daesh finances, lawmakers from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee say the terror organization is enjoying financial support from wealthy Arab families. The report also says Daesh funding has dwindled because of the collapse in oil prices as well asairstrikes targeting its financial sources. The group is thereforeresorting to “gangsterism and protection rackets” to fund its operations The committee further urges Riyadh to enforce laws the interior ministry passed last year to make it illegal for Saudi...

SHAFAQNA –A Conservative MP with pro-Israel views is inciting hate against a rally in support of Palestinians due to take place this weekend. Matthew Offord, who is a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, has written to the Metropolitan Police to say that “the display of Hezbollah, Hamas and Daesh flags” at the aual Al-Quds demonstration “causes great distress to many of my constituents and the population as a whole and, in my opinion, is contrary to the Terrorism Act.” His statement, which is deliberately deceitful and libellous, has been widely reported in the Jewish media. IHRC sees it as an attempt to delegitimise the Al-Quds Day rally by drawing a fictitious link between the te...

Speculations aboundas to who will take over the role of Britain’s new Prime Minister after David Cameron resigned. Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party and Britain’s Prime Minister since 2010, resigned after losing the battle to keep the country in the European Union. Bookmakers place Boris Johnson as the top contender for the position, followed by interior minister Theresa May and Justice Secretary Michael Gove. Boris Johnson Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (52) is the former mayor of London and leader of the Leave campaign in the EU referendum. His popularity has soared since the success of the campaign. As mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, he baed alcohol consum...

SHAFAQNA –IHRC is calling on Muslims in Britain to stay vigilant and take precautionary measures after an explosion in racist and Islamophobic attacks following last week’s EU referendum. Incidents have been reported up and down the country following the decision to leave the EU which was largely inspired by animus directed at Muslims and ethnic minorities. IHRC itself has received many reports of individuals and institutions being targeted. The ‘leave’ result has further legitimised the environment of hate that already exists for Muslims and which was documented in our recent report “Environment of Hate: The New Normal for Muslims in the UK”. The precautionary advice includes staying vigi...

Shafaqna – In a joint statement theUK Sui and Shia leaders condemned the harassment of spiritual leader Ayatollah Isa Qassim of Bahrain. The statement reads: The recent decision of the authorities in revoking the nationality of the leading religious figure of the Shia community in Bahrain, Ayatollah Isa Qassim, is a repressive move that will only stoke sectarian tensions. We are living in very difficult times, which necessitates avoiding such measures to allow for a more peaceful and coexistent society. The Bahraini authorities caot meet demands for democratization and reform whilst stoking sectarian chaos by destroying places of worship, arresting religious figures and revoking citizenship...

SHAFAQNA –Britain’s leading daily newspapers are urging their readers to vote to quit the European Union in the June 23 EU referendum, academics have found. Loughborough University researchers have taken a forensic look at 1,127 news stories published by ten top daily papers since the start of May, and found the “Leave” campaign commands 82 percent of the national daily newspaper readership. The analysis suggests that The Daily Express and Daily Mail are the “least balanced” in covering the issue, while The Guardian, The Timesand The Financial Times have provided a more “balanced or neutral discussion.” The findings come as media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s The Sunnewspaper – Britain’s best-sel...

SHAFAQNA –The Home Office plans to commission a series of telephone polls to survey British Muslims’ attitudes towards extremist ideas and ideologies, BuzzFeed News has leaed. Ministers hope that the polling will not only measure respondents’ existing views but also allow them to track the effectiveness of counter-extremism initiatives such as the controversial Prevent programme. But Muslim leaders voiced conces that the polling reinforced the notion that the Muslim community was suspect, and said sampling difficulties meant the results could be “plain wrong”. The Home Office has confirmed the plans, although a spokesperson said it would not comment on costs. BuzzFeed News understands the g...

SHAFAQNA- A study has found that Muslim women face a double bind of religious and gender discrimination in the British society, whichsubjects them to harassment and abuse. Britain’s Faith Matter group and the European Network Against Racism conducted a research about the impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women across the UK. The study showed that Muslim women have experienced serious barriers at work, such as pregnancy discrimination, pay gap and racial profiling in applications. Muslim women are less likely to get a graduate level job than Christian women with similar qualifications. They are also less likely to get responses to their job applications when sending CVs, researchers said. Som...

SHAFAQNA –The govement’s aouncement today of an independent review into shariah courts in England and Wales is another example of of the govement’s hostile and discriminatory treatment of Muslims in Britain. The home secretary Theresa May justified the review on the grounds that there is evidence some sharia councils might be working “in a discriminatory and unacceptable way”. However her statement was not backed up by any evidence nor did it explain why only Muslim dispute resolution forums were being put under scrutiny. The Jewish community has also long operated its own religious courts called a Beth Din to resolve civil matters according to their faith. The singling out of shariah counc...

SHAFAQNA –British people are among the most welcoming to refugees fleeing conflicts and war, with three in 10 willing to accept asylum-seekers in their own homes, according to a global survey commissioned by Amnesty Inteational. The Refugees Welcome Index, based on a survey of more than 27,000 people across 27 countries, found out that peoplein the UK were the second-most willing to welcome refugees in their houses after China. On top of that, another 47% of Brits said they would accept refugees into their neighbourhood and the vast majority (87%) would let refugees into the UK. The Refugees Welcome Index ranks countries on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 = all respondents would refuse ref...

SHAFAQNA –Plans by the govement aounced in today’s Queen’s Speech to introduce a new law against non-violent extremism represent a direct attack on civil liberties and Britain’s Muslim communities. The Counter-Extremism and Safeguarding Bill envisages introducing a new civil order regime such as ASBO’s to restrict so-called extremist activity. However it is reported that the bill is still far from ready to be introduced to Parliament because the govement is struggling to come up with a legally robust definition of extremism that will withstand the first legal challenge on freedom of speech grounds from those it seeks to ban. Currently the govement defines extremism as “the vocal or active o...