A January article from the Spectator discusses the emergence of two distinct Muslim cultures in Britain. Cohen writes of the reaction to St Stephen’s primary school in Newham banning the wearing of the headscarf for girls under the age of eight, drawing links to issues of Muslim engagement with public life and counter-extremism efforts in the UK.
Umar Haque, who taught at two schools and at a madrassa, has been convicted of attempting to radicalise 110 of his pupils despite Ofsted inspections at the schools not revealing any concern of extremism. Questions have been raised about extending Ofsted’s powers to combat extremism as a result, a topic which is already controversial.
The study finds that attendance at madrassahs may negatively impact the educational attainment of Pakistani boys in the UK. However, there are a number of other factors that contribute to the attainment gap between this demographic and their White-British counterparts, and the influence of madrassahs is not all bad.
Most U.S. Muslims support gun safety reforms and believe public officials would have responded differently had the Florida shooter been Muslim, reports CAIR. Meanwhile, right-wing publications are linking criticism of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office’s response to the shooting with its supposed relationships with CAIR and ‘other’ Islamist groups.
The ruling, from the high court, marks the latest in a long line of controversies surrounding the mosque, which has been opposed by a number of groups including members of the local Muslim community.
