No working definition of Islamophobia for the UK Government: Implications and Reactions

Tuesday 1st November  was the  beginning of the tenth Islamophobia awareness month, a campaign founded in 2012 by MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) and partner organisations which aims to “showcase the positive contributions of Muslims as well as raise awareness of Islamophobia in society”1. The campaign theme for 2022 is “#TacklingDenial” of Islamophobia to raise…

Share Button
Read More

French Preacher Expulsion: What it means for Religious Freedom

On Tuesday 30th August, The Council of State (France’s highest administrative court) has agreed to the expulsion of Imam Hassan Iquioussen to Morocco. Citing the ruling by the Council, Gérald Darmanin (Interior Minister) tweeted that Hassan Iquioussen “will be expelled from the national territory” in what he considers to be “a great victory for the…

Share Button
Read More

The August Attack on Salman Rushdie: Muslim Leaders revisit their positions against the Satanic Verses

75-year-old “The Satanic Verses” author Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie was attacked on Friday 12th August at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York where he was to speak about the importance of America giving asylum to exiled writers.He sustained multiple life-threatening injuries and  was put on a ventilator1. 24-year old Hadi Matar has been arrested…

Share Button
Read More

Racism and far-right bias: Germany’s intelligence and policing institutions under scrutiny

Mesut Özil’s resignation from the Germany national football team after a racist witch-hunt that had blamed him and his Turkish heritage for Germany’s poor showing at the world cup in Russia energised anti-racist activism in Germany. Under the #MeTwo hashtag, countless internet users related their personal experiences of everyday discrimination and racism. Many of the stories shared…

Share Button
Read More

Liberation of journalist signals cautious détente in German-Turkish relations

After one year and two days in Turkish prison – mostly spent in solitary confinement – journalist Deniz Yücel was set free by the Turkish authorities on February 16, 2018. The case of Yücel, a German and Turkish dual national working for the German Die Welt newspaper, had been a severe stumbling block in German-Turkish…

Share Button
Read More