Category Archives: Politics

enter sandmonkey – again!

By bananabrain | Published: October 14, 2009

i don’t know about the rest of you, but i was an avid reader of the sandmonkey blog written in cairo and was extremely upset when he got hounded out of the country by the security forces – but hurrah! it seems that it didn’t take much time for him to get back on the camel (as it were) and continue to rile people all over the middle east with his witty, incisive and often mordant observations.

good luck to him, i say – he deserves our support. unfortunately, i believe the whereabouts of the courageous and farsighted iranian blogger hossein derakhshan still remain unknown. i wonder if we’ll ever see the guy again?

Also posted in Activism, Blogosphere, Democracy, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights | 1 Comment

the blue djinn of 9/11: a saudi moment of reflection and challenge

By bananabrain | Published: September 11, 2009

i read this at asharq al-awsat, the arab daily produced in london (presumably so it’s harder for authoritarian governments to interfere with) and, although i generally don’t tend to see eye-to-eye with their 0pinion page editor mshari al-zaydi, he makes a thoughtful and challenging set of observations about the prevalence of conspiracy theories circulating in the arab and islamic worlds about 9/11:

All these suggestions and scenarios indicate the extent of the control of wishful thinking over us. This is because the common factor among all these ideas is to put the responsibility on the shoulders of a party other than the Arab and Muslim party, i.e. a party that is not us. I remember that there were some who spoke of the involvement of the Colombian drug cartels in these attacks. What is important is that the involved side is someone other than us, even if this one is a blue jinn.

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Also posted in International Affairs, Islamism, Media, Terrorism | 1 Comment

elijah interfaith institute’s religious leadership survey‏ – participants required

By bananabrain | Published: September 4, 2009

i’m not affiliated with the elijah interfaith institute (Elijah Interfaith: Elijah Interfaith Website ), but i do know the boss and strongly approve of his work. i’d appreciate it if any of you could fill out this survey.

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Also posted in Activism, Interfaith | Leave a comment

The rise of the far-right and anti-Muslim bigotry

By Shikwa | Published: August 11, 2009

Last weekend saw some ugly scenes in Birmingham when a group calling itself Casuals United held a protest in the City Centre. There was a similar protest held in Birmingham last month well.

Casuals United say they are only opposed to Islamist extremism but that is not the case. The group is little more than a fascist front, opposed to all Muslims in Britain as this clip of their protest last month demonstrates:

Notable chants in the video come at:

  • 6:26 – I just want Muslim scum to go (a person off camera says this to whoever is filming)
  • 6:48 – We want Muslims out
  • 7:42 – Who are you? Who are you? (The implication being that Muslims are not British)
  • 9:08 – Muslims out
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Also posted in Anti Fascism, Anti Muslim bigotry, Democracy, UK Politics | 8 Comments

We are all Neocons now!

By Guest | Published: August 10, 2009

This is a guest post by The Arabian Neocon and is part 1 of a 2 part report.

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Where to begin with all this? While I unravel the issues here I implore you, gentle reader, to persevere. It gets good. Trust me.

Idrees 2Muhammad Idrees Ahmad is a snotty paranoiac doing a PhD at the University of Strathclyde. In his own words he is currently ‘researching the role of lobbies, think tanks and foundations in furnishing the propaganda for the war in Iraq’.

Now then, the crackpot theories of an overworked and undersexed postgrad do not usually merit much attention. But then, I discovered that Idrees has been going around compiling ‘wiki’ pages on all my friends for his new website ‘Neocon Europe’. It is the invasive nature in which he sought out that information that first brought him to my attention. The website supposedly aims to:

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Also posted in Antisemitism, Blogosphere, Israel/Palestine, UK Politics, Your View | 111 Comments

Yahya Birt hits the nail on the head

By Shikwa | Published: August 8, 2009

Last month the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) published a report on the BNP authored by Edmund Standing which caused quite a stir. The controversy stemmed from a baseless and, frankly, absurd allegation that CSC was deliberately seeking out to minimise and downplay anti-Muslim bigotry. The insinuation behind that charge is pretty clear and you don’t need me to spell it out.

Two things need to be said about Standing’s report. The first is that it does cite examples of the BNP’s anti-Muslim bigotry and these are mentioned throughout the report. The second is that the report itself never set out to provide a conclusive study on the BNP’s ideology – it was instead an investigation of their ‘online fascist network’ exploring the views of BNP members, sympathisers and supporters on places like YouTube and the blogosphere.

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Also posted in Anti Muslim bigotry, Democracy, UK Politics | 22 Comments

The Sex Education Issue

By Guest | Published: August 5, 2009

This is a guest post by Ibn Khaldun

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A lot has recently been made (particularly in Muslim circles) of the idea that the government is attempting to introduce sex education to 5 year olds. Some Muslim parents are up in arms at the idea of their children being taught about sex at the age of five. Islamist groups have also jumped on the bandwagon, spotting an opportunity to spread their propaganda to unwitting Muslim parents. But what is the truth?

Firstly, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has yet to approve any plans, i.e. it is merely being discussed.

Secondly, it is not about ‘sex education’ but rather ‘relationship lessons’, which are a part of a wider initiative to promote Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).

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Also posted in Islamism, UK Politics, Your View | Tagged , | 16 Comments

The Islamo-Stalinist (Part II)

By Guest | Published: July 16, 2009

This is a guest post by Raziq

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Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (Founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir)

Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (Founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir)

This is not your average granddad who has just been dragged away from his game of chess.  This is a rare picture of the great Mujtahid Mutlaq Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani.

Despite his medieval political outlook, as we can see from the picture, Nabhani obviously liked wearing ‘Western’ suits. He was also quite progressive in other matters.  For example he allowed looking at pornography, touching the opposite sex and even kissing girls. However, these opinions did not help his group wherever they came into contact with regular Muslims; many were outraged by his opinions. Politically his group suffered even worse.

In my previous article I highlighted his links with Arab nationalism and Ba’athism, here we will examine his links with other twentieth century political ideologies.

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Also posted in Islamism, Your View | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Fascists in Europe

By Shikwa | Published: July 15, 2009

The British National Party took their seats in the European Union yesterday marking a real low-point in the modern history of British politics.Full credit to Diane Dodds, the Democratic Unionist, who refused to take up her seat next to BNP member Andrew Brons.

The tireless campaigners from ‘Hope Not Hate‘ also submitted a petition with 88021 signtures to the European parliament opposing the BNP’s presence there.

But, what really caught my eye was this list of ten questions being circulated by the campaign group ‘Nothing British about the BNP‘. It’s being run Tim Montogmerie and James Bethel.

1. You claim to be patriotic yet you consort with racist and neo-Nazi organisations in Europe and the United States.  When will you condemn rhetoric that is hostile to British values?

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Also posted in Anti Fascism, UK Politics | Leave a comment

Hizb ut-Tahrir “Brandishing the Sword”

By Guest | Published: July 13, 2009

There are many people who try to argue that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a non-violent organisation. That we can use them to prevent al-Qaeda style extremism. That they really only represent a peaceful opposition movement to current regimes around the world. This is not the case.

This is a guest post by Abdul Qadeem Zallum, global leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir between 1977 and 2003.

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[T]he issue pertaining the obligation of ruling by Islam and preventing the rule by Kufr is a vital issue, because the Legislator (swt) has made the measure that should be undertaken towards it a measure of life and death; thus, he who does not rule by Islam and rules by a Kufr system should either retract or be killed.

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Also posted in Islamism, Your View | Tagged , | 34 Comments

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