Mixed reactions to suicide bomber parody in the UK

Four Lions, the film that mimics a group of suicide bombers in the UK, has evoked mixed reactions just after its release. Many are enthusiastic and the London Evening Standard calls fear the greatest enemy of innovation, but this film manages to overcome fear in an innovative way by making fundamentalists appear ridiculous. Others, however,…

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UK-Muslims “backing Lib Dems”

British Muslims are abandoning their traditional support for Gordon Brown’s Labour party and instead look set to back Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats in this week’s election, community organizers have found. A poll of British Muslims conducted last week found that almost three-quarters of respondents believed the Liberal Democrats offered fairer policies than either the Labour…

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General Election and UK Muslims

Hugely excited about Britain’s first televised party leaders’ debates, the British media have paid limited attention to the vicious electoral battle being fought in the East London borough of Barking and Dagenham. Yet the outcome of the general and local elections there on May 6 could have troubling consequences, not least for Britain’s 2.4 million…

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A tribute to Gai Eaton/Sidi Hasan

Gai Eaton (1921-2010), or Sidi Hasan, which was his Muslim name, was a diplomat, author and one of Britain’s most influential convert Muslims. In his nearly 60 years as a Muslim he proved that British values are very much compatible with Islamic ones, writes Kristiane Backer in her tribute to a friend.

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Re-assessing the “Prevent” strategie against Muslim extremists in Britain

As delivered so far, the Prevent program has stigmatized and alienated those it is most important to engage, and tainted many positive community cohesion projects, says a cross-party committee of MPs. Moreover, the government’s strategy to limit the development of violent extremism in the UK sits poorly within a counter-terrorism strategy.

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