German civil rights groups are mobilising against the newly elected far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other more hardline groups, vowing to avert the even stronger rightward lurch seen in neighbouring countries. Thousands of protesters are expected in the eastern city of Dresden on Saturday when the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement celebrates its third anniversary. […]
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Thousands of children and teenagers, including large numbers of girls, were referred to Britain’s often-criticised counter-terrorism programme Prevent, new official figures showed on Thursday. Prevent is a key strand of Britain’s security strategy which was launched in 2003 to combat extremism after the Sept 11 attacks on the United States. It has grown in prominence […]
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The Tatar Muslim turns to me and laughingly says that on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims from other countries like Indonesia looked puzzled when they queried where he was from and the response left them with a look of disbelief. Poland he replied, to which the answer was always the same. ‘Poland? Are there […]
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This report is a set of reflections from key social activists, academics and civil society leaders who experienced the social impacts of 7/7 or who have worked with communities shaped by the experiences of 7/7 and scourge of extremism and terrorism. It is an insight into the private and public experiences of individuals and their […]
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#UNITEDAGAINSTH8 – TEN YEARS ON FROM 7/7 This series of infographics intends to capture the changing face of community relations a decade after 7/7. That tragic day captures how individuals from various faiths and nationalities died on a day that should have started like any other, with the humble commute to work. Atique Sharifi, 24, […]
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This report argues that the current strategy’s centralised and top-down deployment markedly reduces local capacity to find tailored solutions that make sense for a given community. The Prevent strategy’s move away [As Prevent Centralises, Community Engagement and Local Capacity To Implement Local Tailored Solutions Falls] from community engagement to a centralised approach is not likely […]
Continue ReadingNot enough Muslim women are involved in counter-extremism operations in the UK, say activists, a problem which could be leading to more women and teenage girls deciding to travel to Syria to join extremist groups. This week a UK family, comprising three sisters and nine children from Bradford, crossed the border into Syria without their […]
Continue ReadingFiyaz Mughal, the Director of Faith Matters speaks about the pushes and pulls of extremism and the way that ISIS and other extreme groups are reaching out to individuals and groups within the United Kingdom. Fiyaz outlines some of the background as to where 3 women and their 9 children may be, after travelling to […]
Continue ReadingWhen British people think about Muslims, terrorism often comes to mind. Amid a growing international concern about the Islamic State group (aka ISIS), a recent YouGov poll found that Britons associate followers of Islam with certain negative terms more often than positive ones. At the top of the list were the 12 percent of respondents […]
Continue ReadingWe have all seen the terrible impacts on communities of the nihilistic pull of ISIS. Yesterday, a group of 3 women and their children disappeared whilst returning from Saudi Arabia and are purported to be in Turkey, on their way to ISIS. Any theological material that undermines the rhetoric of ISIS whilst placing British Muslims […]
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