United Kingdom

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

True Multi-Cultural Hero: The Surprise That Is St George

True Multi-Cultural Hero: The Surprise That Is St George

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: He’s been adopted by the English right-wing as a symbol of racial purity. He actually stood for nothing of the sort.

 Editor, MEP

Margaret Thatcher, 1925 – 2013: A Life in Quotes

Margaret Thatcher’s memorable words — from her 1979 victory, to her remarks at the end of the Falkland war, to her fight against European integration.

 Steve Royston

Reassessing Margaret Thatcher, 1925 – 2013

Reassessing Margaret Thatcher, 1925 – 2013

I breathed a sigh of relief when Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in 1991. She was a divisive politician, and I found myself on the anti-Thatcher side of the divide.

STEVE ROYSTON: Margaret Thatcher was a divisive politician, and I found myself on the anti-Thatcher side of the divide.

 Francis Matthew

Iraq 10 Years On: The Benefit of Hindsight

Iraq 10 Years On: The Benefit of Hindsight

The attempts by President George W. Bush to justify the American-led invasion of Iraq followed so many wildly different reasons with no coherent link that the liveliest of conspiracy theories have flourished. This has been fuelled by the obvious political failure that has caused no pain to Bush and his neo-conservative allies who launched the war, while the companies with links to those same neo-conservatives have taken a significant share in the billions spent in reconstructing Iraq.

In the aftermath of the terrible attack on the World Trade Centre on 9/11, the first reason given was that Saddam Hussain supported Al Qaida, although Saddam had been ruthless in suppressing Islamists. Then Bush and Blair used Saddam’s alleged plan to manufacture and prepare to use weapons of mass destruction. When eventually this reason [...]

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Halal Food: It’s a Simple Matter of Community Trust

Halal Food: It’s a Simple Matter of Community Trust

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: The ongoing horsemeat scandal demonstrates the importance of establishing means to gain and maintain trust among consumers

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Muslim Patrol: Proof of the Power of Social Media

Muslim Patrol: Proof of the Power of Social Media

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: The way to notoriety these days is clear – do something hateful, film it and stick it on YouTube

 Common Ground News Service

Hip Hop Hijabis: The Rhythm and Rhyme of Debate

METTE REITZEL, CGNEWS: Their appearance, their message and their undoubted skill blend to create powerful voices confronting stereotypes

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Your Time: The Commitment That Grows Communities

Your Time: The Commitment That Grows Communities

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: It’s important – and if your Muslim it’s obligatory – to give money to the less fortunate. But there’s a more precious resource that you should give too.

 Common Ground News Service

3Fs Forum: ‘All of the Big Questions Up for Discussion’

3Fs Forum: ‘All of the Big Questions Up for Discussion’

JESSICA ABRAHAMS, CGNEWS: Frank and open dialogue was the name of the game at a recent inter-faith event in the UK.

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

“There Are Many Ways to be Muslim”: Varied World

“There Are Many Ways to be Muslim”: Varied World

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: I’m deeply concerned about the growing Islamophobia in Europe. I’m doing my bit to confront it.

 Common Ground News Service

Day-To-Day Lives of Arabs Revealed at Film Festival

Day-To-Day Lives of Arabs Revealed at Film Festival

DINA MAGDY, CGNEWS: The London MENA Film Festival provided a welcome release from easy stereotype and news headlines which too easily define Arabs in Western eyes.

 Juan Cole

Afghanistan vs Affair: What Should We Be Concerned About?

Afghanistan vs Affair: What Should We Be Concerned About?

JUAN COLE: It was David Petraeus’s conduct of counter insurgency in Afghanistan rather than his evening activities that I was interested in

 Rob L. Wagner

Have the ‘Big Boys’ Given Up On Islamic Banking?

Have the ‘Big Boys’ Given Up On Islamic Banking?

ROB L. WAGNER: HSBC’s decision to downgrade significantly the resources it devotes to Islamic banking has thrown the issue into sharp focus.

 James M. Dorsey

Gulf Finance House Deal Good for Leeds United?

Gulf Finance House Deal Good for Leeds United?

JAMES M. DORSEY: Leeds United’s negotiations for a takeover by Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House (GFH) may not give it access to the funding that has boosted the fortunes of others…

 James M. Dorsey

Middle East Football Investment: No Guarantees

Middle East Football Investment: No Guarantees

JAMES M. DORSEY: The key question for Leeds supporters should be who is the investor and what is the purpose of the acquisition; those are questions that have yet to be answered.

 Steve Royston

Healthcare in Saudi, the US and UK: Who does it Right?

Healthcare in Saudi, the US and UK: Who does it Right?

STEVE ROYSTON: In one respect he is fortunate: Saudi has abundant resources to throw at these problems, unlike the US and the UK, where health services are competing for funds.

 Abu Muhammed

The Post-Assange Era Looks Bleak for Media Freedom

The Post-Assange Era Looks Bleak for Media Freedom

ABU MOHAMMED: It’s clear that a lesson is being taught to Julian Assange and anyone else who believes in true freedom of the media

 Editor, MEP

Assange’s Day of Reckoning?

VIDEO: Still holed up in London’s Ecuadorean embassy, seeking asylum, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister says the UK has threatened to enter the embassy and arrest Assange.

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

Shakespeare Does Iraq: Watch The Audience

Shakespeare Does Iraq: Watch The Audience

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: A new version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ set in Iraq which is now playing in London is winning over Iraqis and non-Iraqis alike.

 Jonathan Cook

The God Complex: The West’s Right to War in the Middle East

The God Complex: The West’s Right to War in the Middle East

Jonathan Cook: If the West succeeds in its proxy intervention in Syria and disables yet another Arab state for refusing to toe its line, the stage will be set for the next target: Iran.