Author Archives: Houriya

The Burkha Ban in France is Draconian

My opinion piece has been published in the Times: I grew up in a liberal household in the Middle East where religious practice was never forced on me. But when I was 17 I made the choice to wear the hijab (headscarf), in the belief that this was a religious obligation and symbol of modesty. At [...]
Posted in Secularism | 10 Comments

Garton Ash’s view of the Swiss ban on minarets

Timothy Garton Ash has written a comment piece for the Guardian discussing the Swiss ban on mosque minarets. I agree with all that he says except for the Islamic Shakhsiya Foundation point. I have looked at the curriculum that they were teaching at the time they received government funding. And yes, they do promote Hizb ut-Tahrir [...]
Posted in Anti Muslim bigotry, Islamism, Your View | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bunglawala’s Sectarian Attitude

In today’s Jewish Chronicle, Martin Bright reveals Inayat Bunglawala’s sectarian attitude towards those who disagree with his interpretation of Islam. Bright writes: Inayat Bunglawala of the MCB defended his attacks on British Muslims for Secular Democracy because leading members of the organisation opposed the wearing of the hijab and believed drinking was permitted in Islam. The chair [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 36 Comments

Vote to ban minarets in Switzerland

On the 29th of this month, Switzerland will vote on banning minarets. Home to approximately 300,000 Muslims, the Swiss People’s Party and Federal Democratic Union are behind a referendum claiming that the construction of a minaret is not protected by the freedom of religion as it has “no religious significance”. Actually, minarets not only have religious [...]
Posted in Human Rights | Tagged , | 10 Comments

HT’s Strategy in the UK

I’ve just completed writing a report for the CSC, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Ideology and Strategy. The full report can be accessed here and an executive summary here. Our report covers Hizb ut-Tahrir’s (HT) violent ideology, its perspective of the West and its strategy in the UK. Having gone through HT’s literature of its ideology, my colleague Hannah [...]
Posted in Islamism | 27 Comments

Even veiled ‘modest’ women are sexually harassed…

A new report has been released by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights which discusses issues of sexual harassment that women face in Egypt. The report concluded that most respondents who were victims of sexual harassment wore the hijab and regarded themselves as modestly dressed. Yet some even blamed themselves for being sexually harassed by [...]
Posted in Crime | 31 Comments

Update on ‘Blood & Honour’ neo-Nazi group

The website of the Scotland wing of neo-Nazi group ‘Blood & Honour’, which was exposed by the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) to be disseminating extremist white supremacist materials, has now been suspended.  Additionally the police are investigating the information that has been passed to them by the CSC. For more information on ‘Blood & Honour’ [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

An Appeal To The World’s Conscience

From the Egyptian writer and academic researcher of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Sayed Mahmoud El Qemany, who is being exposed to incitements to assassinate him. In the context of my academic research and practical work I have been able to provide an important set of motion in the stagnant Egyptian situation. I have attempted to make [...]
Posted in Feature, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Islamism | Leave a comment

How about jeans and a top?

Three women, two police constables and one community support officer decided to wear full face veiled burkhas and other ‘Muslim women’s clothing’ in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, as part of an effort to understand ‘diversity’ in a police initiative titled ‘In your shoes’. The three went out shopping to feel how it was to be a [...]
Posted in Interfaith | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hizb ut-Tahrir violates copyright regulations!!

Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Malaysian chapter [the revolutionary and expansionist Islamist group] advertised its 26 July 2009 conference with this image: A beheaded Statue of Liberty. A burning and ruined Financial District in Manhattan.  Conveniently using this clip image from the film Cloverfield, Hizb ut-Tahrir uses it to epitomise everything the party loathes and despises: democracy, freedom, [...]
Posted in Islamism | Tagged , | 7 Comments