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UK complicitin new torture

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t h e P a s s i o n By Islamic HumanRights Commission

IHRC has published a new report into the massive social engineering campaign being carried out by Chinese authorities against the Uighur inhabitants of its north western Xinjiang province.

Based on first hand accounts of locals who have escaped the iron grip of Beijing, the report conveys in harrowing detail the ordeal of Uighur refugees who have suffered and survived the notorious re-education camps that aim to erase their religious and cultural identity.

The report titled “Grief Observed: Uighur Testimonies” is the culmination of a series of interviews IHRC undertook last year with Uighurs now resident in Turkey.

Those who were courageous enough to agree to be interviewed reported the existence of a police state in which few movements or conversations went unrecorded by the state and in which Uighurs live in a permanent state of fear.

Muslims are repeatedly required to provide biometric information at

regular police checkpoints, face blanket CCTV surveillance and have their telephone and online activity monitored.

Those who show any signs of Islamic religiosity are systematically targeted, even to the extent that teachers routinely probe schoolchildren to find out if their parents practise their faith at home.

Once in custody, refugees reported that torture was routine and included beatings and rape to extract confessions and information about other Uighurs’ religious observance.

Often the torture continues in the detention camps where detainees, whose number includes many children, are placed in inhumane conditions with every aspect of their lives watched and controlled. Here they are subjected to an endless stream of state propaganda, and forced to repeat mantras that extol the virtues of the Chinese state and Han identity while denying their own Islamic / Uighur identity.

IHRC estimates several million

Uighurs have passed through the detention camps making this an industrial scale campaign to destroy the Uighur identity and their attachment to Islam.

“From arresting people for teaching the Quran, to accusing people of sedition for distributing charitable donations to the poor, the repression of Islam is systematic. China is actively and methodically repressing all expressions of normative Islam amongst the Uighurs,” says the report.

Among the report’s recommendations is that China immediately ends its campaign of repression and shuts down the detention camps. Beijing should also should allow free and unfettered access to suspected camps to the UN and allow the return those who have been forced into exile without any prospect of recriminations.

The full report is available to read here: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/publications/reports/26146-grief-observed-uighur-testimonies/

IHRC report details systematic state campaign to erase Uighur identity

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UK complicitin new tortureThere are at least 15 previously-unidentified cases of people who may have been tortured with UK complicity, it has been revealed as part of a High Court hearing in which the UK government is trying to have all evidence of the 15 cases heard in a secret court.

The revelation came as part of a hearing in the judicial review brought by human rights NGO Reprieve and MPs David Davis and Dan Jarvis on the government’s failure to hold an independent, judge-led inquiry into UK complicity in torture and rendition.

The government argued that evidence of British involvement in torture and rendition should be kept behind closed doors and heard only in secret courts. This includes the product of a recent secret, internal-only MI6 review, which identified 15 new cases of potential UK complicity in torture and rendition, as happened to Libyan dissident Abdul Hakim Belhaj who received a historic apology from the UK in 2018. These 15 cases have never been properly independently investigated.

The 15 cases were identified by

MI6 in October 2018 in the course of an internal review - after the Intelligence and Security Committee published a report identifying several cases of potential UK complicity which had not arisen in any previous investigations (including previous internal reviews by MI5 and MI6). Reprieve believes these 15 further cases – which it understands were never seen by the ISC. The Intelligence and Security Committee’s report described hundreds of such cases but the individuals involved were not disclosed.

Maya Foa, Reprieve director, said: “When the government broke its promise to torture survivors, it also broke the law. And now the government is trying to push these shocking new revelations - and our call for an independent, judge-led inquiry - into secret courts. Evidence of British involvement in kidnap, torture, and rendition, must be opened up to public scrutiny so that victims can seek redress - and so that this country may not be doomed to repeat mistakes of the so-called war on terror.”

Mr Davis commented: “Last year when the government admitted that it would not proceed with its promised inquiry into torture, after years of dither and delay, I was frankly exasperated. And when I said in Parliament ‘see you in court’, I meant it. But what I meant was transparent, open court - not this un-British, Kafkaesque, secret courts process, hidden away from public scrutiny for the government to sweep any embarrassing revelations into a dark corner. We owe it to torture survivors, and to the British public, to take an honest, transparent look at this terrible period.”

Mr Jarvis said: “The UK is not, nor should it ever be, above the law. Our response to the threat of terrorism must be unequivocal, but it must also be legal. As mounting evidence has shown, that standard has not always been met. This call for an inquiry is not an attempt to damage Britain’s reputation but to rebuild it. I believe the government has a legal and moral obligation to investigate what happened, prevent it happening again, and the public has a right to know what was done in its name.”

15 further cases of potential British involvement in rendition or torture revealed

4 I UK NEWS www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is shining a light on some of the ‘consequences of a lack of action on race equality’, says the chairman of a group which has studied the social and economic factors behind why Wales’ black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities are more adversely affected by the disease.

A report to be published later today will reveal complex and long-standing factors that are contributing to the disproportionate impact coronavirus is having on Wales’ BAME communities.

It will make more than 30 recommendation to the Welsh Government to help address the social-economic and environmental risks it highlights. These include:

Communication of health information, and how effective it is;

Cultural issues relating to the suitability of health and social

services for BAME communities;Income and employment

insecurity, which is experienced disproportionately by BAME communities;

Poor quality of ethnicity data, which is preventing accurate analysis;

Housing overcrowding and environment;

The financial burden created by migration status;

The role of structural and systemic racism and disadvantage.

The report is by the BAME Covid-19 expert advisory group, set up by First Minister Mark Drakeford to look at the reasons why people from BAME communities were more likely to be adversely affected by coronavirus.

One of its two sub-groups was tasked with examining the socio-economic factors, chaired by

Long-standing issues for BAME communities ‘exposed by Covid-19’

Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna, professor of management and organization at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University.

“There’s an overall theme running through our research for this report. It centres on long-standing racism and disadvantage, and the lack of BAME representation within decision-making processes,” said Professor Ogbonna, who is also a trustee and vice-chair of Race Council Wales.

“The coronavirus pandemic is, in some respects, revealing the consequences of a lack of action on race equality.

“Many of the issues we’ve highlighted have been identified and discussed previously, but they haven’t been addressed in any systematic and sustained way.”

Analysis of Covid-19 related deaths across England and Wales by ethnicity showed that people from a black ethnic background are at a greater risk of death involving COVID-19 than all other ethnic groups.

The Office for National Statistics study showe that the risk for black males has been more than three times higher than white males, and nearly two-and-a-half times higher for black females than white.

Adjusting for socio-economic factors and geographical location partly explains the increased risk, but there remains twice the risk for black males and around one-and-a-half times for black females. Significant differences also remain for Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian men.

Leicester goes into lockdownThe British government has placed a single city on lockdown for the first time.

All schools and non-essential shops in Leicester, in central England, must close and the government has urged people to stay at home after a localised coronavirus outbreak.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock

said nationwide moves to ease a three-month lockdown would no longer apply in Leicester because of its high rate of Covid-19.

“We must control this virus. We must keep people safe,” Mr Hancock told the British Parliament.

The lockdown order also recommends against all but essential travel to Leicester.

The city accounted for “10 per cent of all positive cases in the country over the past week”, Mr Hancock said.

The seven-day infection rate in Leicester was 135 cases for every 100,000 people, three times higher than in the city with the next highest rate

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GMP 8 times more likely to stop and search black people, figures show

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers are eight times more likely to stop and search black people than white people, according to Government figures that have been released.

Under the law, an officer has the powers to stop and search people if they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect they are carrying illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen property or

something which could be used to commit a crime such as a crowbar.

Statistics gathered from stop and search checks between April 2018 and March 2019 show eight in 1,000 black people were stopped by the force, compared with just one in 1,000 white people.

The rate per thousand was three for citizens from a mixed race origin, two for Asian people and one

for people from other ethnicities, including Chinese people.

Moving forward, the force will be working with the Mayor’s Office to publish a quarterly Race Equality Policing Report on the use of policing powers to “help to ensure all communities receive equal treatment” from GMP.

In neighbouring forces, stop and search figures show more black people were stopped than white people too.

Merseyside’s stop and search rate per thousand black people was 43, Cheshire’s was 17 and Lancashire’s was 11.

The rate for stopping white people was 13 for Merseyside, two for Cheshire and two for Lancashire.

Across England and Wales, the average stop and search rate per thousand was 38 for black people, 11 for Asian people and 11 for mixed race people.

The rate for other ethnicities, including Chinese people, was seven with the figure for white people being four

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Press regulator IPSO has confirmed that high-profile backers of Hacked Off and others were wrong in their assertion that a Daily Express front-page showing crowds on Brighton seafront in breach of lockdown was faked.

The article, headlined “Patel warns selfish rule-breakers”, appeared on 24 April and led to claims repeated thousands of times on Twitter that the picture was faked because it showed cranes that were not in place when it was taken.

Jon Mills, the picture editor of South West News, responded with

a message showing the embedded metadata from the image proving it was taken when it was taken.

IPSO received 22 complaints about the piece.

The regulator said: “Complainants said that the article was inaccurate as the picture of Brighton’s promenade was not contemporaneous. Rather, they said it had been taken last summer, which was evidenced by the fact that some cranes appearing in the picture had since been removed…

“The publication did not accept that the article breached the Code.

It provided the metadata for the picture, which showed that the photo had been taken on 23 April 2020, a day before publication. The publication also provided a Twitter post by a member of the public in which they apologised for initially alleging that the article was inaccurate.

“This person had since stood from where the photograph was taken from and confirmed that the same cranes that had appeared in the photo were present.”

The complaints were rejected.www.pi-media.co.uk

IPSO rejects complaints prompted by fake front page headline in Daily Express

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In Case YouMissed ItUK ‘complicit’ in US

drone-related war crimes

Britain’s secretive drone program has come under the spotlight with credible allegations that the UK is potentially complicit in US war crimes.

A new report by the specialist website Drone Wars UK has subjected the overt and covert cooperation between the UK and US in relation to armed drone operations

to forensic scrutiny.Entitled “Joint Enterprise: An

overview of US-UK cooperation on armed drone operations”, the specialized report pours cold water on the British government’s insistence that its armed drone program is separate and independent to that of the US.

The key argument put forward by

this specialized report is that in view of the close historic ties, shared use of infrastructure and tightly integrated operations, the two nation’s drone programs amount to “joint enterprise” and possibly “joint liability”.

More broadly, the report sets out in painstaking detail the areas in which the UK and US drone programs intersect, often in operational settings.

The close interoperability between the two drone forces is foundational in nature in so far as the UK’s current armed Reaper drone program has evolved directly from the US Air Force’s Predator drone program over the last two decades.

Separately, in an interview with the Russian news agency Sputnik, Chris Cole, the founder and director of Drone Wars UK, claims that the close drone-related cooperation between the two nations is deeply problematic – potentially in terms of war crimes – as the US is engaged in drone strikes which are widely seen as “in violation of international law”.

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Despite repeated warnings by British political leaders and police officials to stay off the streets, thousands of demonstrators came out in force in central London to continue the anti-racism protests now sweeping the UK.

But the protests have been disrupted by crowds of counter-demonstrators, mostly made up of far-right extremists and English nationalists.

The counter-demonstrators clashed with police close to Westminster Bridge, pelting them with bottles and other missiles.

Far-right crowds and English

nationalists also gathered in Parliament Square and marched towards the covered Winston Churchill monument.

The far-right counter-demonstrators claimed they had turned up to protect statues of British icons and monuments to Britain’s war dead from the anti-racism protesters.

Earlier the police had sealed the Churchill statue and the Cenotaph (war memorial) in steel to protect them from the wrath of anti-racism and anti-war campaigners.

The Met Police has also put a Section 60 order (providing

enhanced stop and search powers) in place in an effort to arrest the momentum of street protests and counter-demonstrations.

In a sign the British political establishment is becoming increasingly jittery over the anti-racism protests – and the reaction it is eliciting from the far-right – most leading political figures have called on people to avoid street gatherings.

Hardline Home Secretary, Priti Patel, described the violence meted out to the police by the far-right counter-demonstrators as “unacceptable thuggery”.

Far-right groups disrupt anti-racism protests in London

10 I WORLD NEWS www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020

US Muslims demand reform, back black-led groups

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody, dozens of American Muslim organizations have come together to call for reform to policing practices, and to support Black-led organizations.

“The victimization of unarmed Black Muslims has a long and troubling history,” said a coalition statement signed by more than 90 civil rights, advocacy, community and faith organizations. “As American Muslims, we will draw on our diversity, our strength, and our resilience to demand these reforms because Black lives matter.”

Proposed changes include prohibiting racial profiling and maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to the brain, such as choke holds; making it legally easier for prosecutors to hold law enforcement accountable; and redirecting police funding “into

community health, education, employment and housing programs.”

The statement also calls for establishing “a federal standard that use of force be reserved as a last resort, only when absolutely necessary” and after exhausting all reasonable options.

“These demands are a floor for our groups and not a ceiling. Some would call for much more,” Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, one of the statement’s co-conveners, said in response to e-mailed questions. “We’re also urging all American Muslims to call their members of Congress right now and to demand a stronger response from them.”

Like members of other faith groups, many Muslims in America have joined in the outrage unleashed after Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer

pressed a knee to his neck. Groups from multiple denominations across faiths have publicly called for action against racism and aligned with the goals of peaceful demonstrators.

In street protests, statements, sermons and webinars, American Muslims have rallied against racism and discussed reforms.

“Muslim American organizations are committed to advocating at all levels to put an end to excessive use of force which has led to the murders of countless Black Americans,” said Iman Awad, legislative director of Emgage Action, one of the statement’s signatories. “Our message is that we will continue to fight but most importantly uplift the work being done by our Black leaders.”

Muslims in America are ethnically and racially diverse and Floyd’s death has also reinvigorated conversations about the treatment and representation of Black Muslims in their own faith communities.

“I’m hopeful and heartened by the number and diversity of groups that have signed on,” said Kameelah Rashad, president of Muslim Wellness Foundation, also a co-convener. “That says to me that there’s at least recognition that we as a whole can no longer separate Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, surveillance, and violence. People are reconciling with the notion that means our struggles are intertwined.”

In Case YouMissed It

Muslims joined Christians in al-Maris in Egypt’s Luxor Governorate to disinfect the town’s church.

The Muslim and Christian youths volunteered to clean and sanitize the building, youm7.com website reported.

Ali Yunus Ammar, an official with the town’s crisis management committee, hailed the move and said it is part of efforts to promote rapport among the youths at a time

of difficulties.Egypt lifted many of the

restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, reopening mosques and many other places such as gyms, cafes and theaters.

Mosques and churches will not be allowed to hold their weekly main services, when large crowds traditionally gather for worship.

The government has also banned Friday prayers at mosques

and Sunday Masses at churches, Madbouly said.

Health protocols should also be observed and measures such as sanitizing the places of worship and maintaining social distancing is a must.

Egypt has so far reported 63,923 coronavirus cases. COVID-19 has killed 2,708 people in the country.

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Muslims join Christians in sanitizing church in Egypt

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Palestinian hold massive rally against annexation

Palestinians formed a human chain across Rafah, in southern parts of the besieged Gaza Strip, to voice their strong dissent against Israel’s annexation plan.

The demonstrators waved Palestine flags and raised banners, denouncing the planned annexation and stressing that the “West Bank and Jordan Valley are Palestinian land.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has urged Belgium to implement a recently approved resolution,

which calls for denouncing Israel’s annexation scheme and adopting punitive measures if the regime goes ahead with its much-condemned plan.

The Belgian parliament passed with an overwhelming majority a resolution calling on the government to take action to bar the Israeli regime from unilaterally annexing large parts of the occupied West Bank.

The Belgian legislators called on Brussels, the seat of the European Union (EU), to actively advocate for

European-wide punitive measures against Tel Aviv if it went ahead with its highly-provocative scheme.

The motion urges the government of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès “to take the initiative with third countries, at European and multilateral levels, to prevent the annexation [by] Israel of the Palestinian territories, or parts of them.”

In a press statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem hailed the decision made by the Belgian parliament, calling on its counterparts across the world to follow suit and pressure their respective governments to adopt punitive measures against the Israeli regime, the Palestinian Information Center reported.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has time and again announced that he would begin cabinet-level discussions for annexing more areas in the occupied West Bank on July 1, in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s the so-called deal of the century.

On May 19, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority, declared the end of all agreements signed with Tel Aviv and Washington. He previously said that Trump’s scheme “belongs to the dustbin of history.”

The United Nations top human rights official Michelle Bachelet called on Israel to halt its illegal plans to annex part of occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank and warned it could lead to deadly clashes.

“Annexation is illegal. Period,” Bachelet said in a statement, Reuters reported. “I am deeply concerned that even the most minimalist form of annexation would lead to increased violence and loss of life, as walls are erected, security forces deployed

and the two populations brought into closer proximity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to extend Israeli sovereignty over Zionist settlements in the territory has drawn condemnation from the Palestinians, US Arab allies and other foreign governments. His cabinet is due to begin formal annexation deliberations Wednesday, July 1.

However, Netanyahu’s top coalition partner Benny Gantz said

Monday that a target date to begin discussing proposed annexation of occupied West Bank land was “not sacred”, a source in Gantz’s party said.

The remarks, which the source said Gantz made during a meeting with US Ambassador David Friedman and White House adviser Avi Berkowitz, threw doubt on prospects for a unified Israeli approach to US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

UN rights chief: Israel’s annexation plan Illegal

www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020 WORLD NEWS I 13

In Case YouMissed It

Muslims in Kashmir fear demographic shift amid Indian ambitions

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in Kashmir are filled with angry posts from people who got their newly issued domicile resident certificates.

Many in the Muslim-majority Kashmir believe India has a larger scheme to change the demography of the region.

Up to 25,000 people have been granted domicile certificates in Indian-controlled Kashmir since May.

The certificate is equal to citizenship. It entitles a person to

residency and jobs in the region, which until last year was only reserved for the local population.

In August 2019, India revoked the semi-autonomous status of the region. It also scrapped the local special citizenship law. Observers now believe this is the beginning of a new struggle for Kashmir.

Both pro- and anti-India political parties in Kashmir have expressed opposition to India’s decision. However, India says the move intends to integrate the

Muslim-majority Kashmir with the rest of India in order to bring about development.

Although India’s latest moves in Kashmir have drawn massive international criticisms, New Delhi has not reversed its decisions. Some say India seek to turn Kashmir into an ‘occupied region.’ PTV

A boat carrying almost 100 suspected Rohingya refugees was found floating several miles off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province on Wednesday after being rescued by fishermen, authorities said.

Police said the boat, found by fishermen last month, was carrying around 94 foreign nationals, including 79 women and children, the Daily Sabah reported.

Dicky Ronie, an official at the immigration office in nearby Lhokseumawe, said officials believed the foreign nationals were ethnic Rohingya, but investigations were ongoing.

The disaster mitigation agency in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, said

authorities were planning to bring the boat ashore.

Teuku Faizasyah, the spokesperson for Indonesia’s foreign ministry, was not immediately available for comment.

The arrival comes as survivors from another boat crammed with more than 300 Rohingya Muslims told Malaysian authorities that dozens on board had died and their bodies were thrown in the sea during a four-month voyage.

The boat had landed on the Malaysian island of Langkawi on June 8, with 269 people abroad.

Mainly Muslim Malaysia is home to the second-largest number of Rohingya refugees after Bangladesh.

Nearly 750,000 crossed the border into Bangladesh following the 2017 military crackdown on the minority group in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.

Rohingya Muslims have made perilous voyages to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia for years, fleeing persecution in predominantly Buddhist neighbor Myanmar or poverty in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

More than 1 million live in squalid conditions in sprawling camps in the south of Bangladesh, with as many as a dozen people sharing one shelter and scarce access to soap and water in some areas.

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Boat carrying Rohingya Muslimrefugees found floating off Indonesia

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Christchurch Mosque gunman’s interview needs to be made Public: Muslims

Muslim leaders in New Zealand are calling for an interview with the man convicted of killing 51 members of their community to be made public.

The Royal Commission into the Attack on the Christchurch Mosques set up to find answers about the attack announced yesterday it had spoken to the shooter as part of its inquiries.

He is awaiting sentencing for the murders of 51 people and the attempted murders of 40 others, in the attacks on Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque on 15 March, 2019.

Those in the Muslim community say they and the victims’ families deserve to know what he said in the interview.

‘We want to know why’Aya Al-Umari still gets the urge

to tag her brother, Hussein, in something on social media, or call him to talk.

“And I’ll just be like oh, okay, hang on a minute. That feeling is definitely still there.

“It’s not easy, especially for my mum. Burying a son before [a mother] is not the natural way of how things go.”

Hussein Al-Umari was 35 years old when he was killed on 15 March, 2019 at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.

After pleading guilty, the killer will never face a trial, so Aya Al-Umari said her family was relying on a Royal Commission report into the attacks for answers.

“From us as families we really want to know answers. We want to know why, what happened. I’m personally expecting the Royal Commission report to answer these questions.”

The government directed the commission to investigate the killer’s activities in the lead up to the attacks on 15 March, 2019.

The Royal Commission declined to be interviewed for this story.

But in a statement, its chair, the Honourable Justice Sir William Young, said the commission had spoken to the gunman to “help with some areas of uncertainty”.

It’s also part of a principal of natural justice - which gives anyone mentioned in a royal inquiry a right of reply.

Commissioner Jacqui Caine said it was a carefully considered decision driven by the need to observe

natural justice and the ultimate goal of providing answers in the final report.

“We have given a commitment to the public that we would leave no stone unturned and interviewing the individual is another way we have sought to fulfil that commitment.”

While the final report will be public, RNZ understands a decision is yet to be made on whether a full transcript of the interview will be included.

New Zealand Muslim Association president Ikhlaq Kashkari said detail will be distressing for the community, but it’s necessary.

“It’ll be nice to get a full script of what interview took place and what questions were asked and what answers were given.”

Kashkari, who is also on the Muslim reference group for the commission, said going to trial would have provided many more opportunities for questions to be asked.

“Since he has pleaded guilty our concern is that interest that reporters would have had or if they could have dug more into it - our concern is that could be lost.”

Anjum Rahman, from the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand, said she will be pressuring the government for as much detail as possible to be publicly released.

“I think that people really want to make sure that something like this never happens again.

“For the country’s healing and for the healing of our community as well, we need to see all the information and as much of what they gained in this interview that they can put into the report.

“It needs to be shared with the wider public.”

The gunman’s sentencing was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a date is yet to be set.

The commission’s report is due to be completed by the end of July.

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Islamophobia rising tide in west: Indonesian Muslim scholars

A report published by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), a think tank based in the Turkish capital Ankara, outlined the discrimination and xenophobia that many Muslims face in European countries.

The European Islamophobia Report 2019 recounted many Islamophobic developments that occurred last year in both Europe and across the world.

“The elections to the European parliament and to several national parliaments saw a further rise in popularity of ultra-nationalist parties in some countries,” it said, quoting the annual report of European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.

Ahmad Suaedy, a lecturer at the University of Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia, agreed that Islamophobia

was a rising tide in western countries.

“Recently, Islamophobia has not only been present in a form of employment discrimination, but also manifested in violence, physical assault, and terrorism,” Suaedy said on Monday.

According to the SETA’s report, the European Commission recognized that people from ethnic or racial minorities in the EU experienced higher risks of economic hardship, poorer-quality housing, residential segregation, unemployment and assault.

Suaedy said Islamophobia was also present in the Brexit victory and Donald Trump’s election win across the Atlantic.

Citing the Islamophobic terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 51 people dead in two

mosques, he said that research had revealed that acts of “violence and terrorism” were employed more by “far-right” groups rather than Muslims and migrants.

Suaedy asserted that the rise of Islamophobia was a symptom of oligarchic populism.

“Such a phenomenon can be seen as a response to the rise of grassroots movement, like what happened when Barrack Obama won the US presidential election, that emboldened pro-Trump sentiment among white supremacists,” he said.

Suaedy underlined that Islamophobia was also present in India with its controversial Citizenship Act that he said brought discrimination against Muslims by Hindus, and in Myanmar, where Buddhists have long discriminated against the Muslim Rohingya.

“This is a global [phenomenon], but each region has a specific issue,” he added.

SETA said in its report that the media, alongside politics, were the most influential spaces where Islamophobia could either be challenged or consolidated.

Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi, a vice-chancellor of the Darussalam University, told Anadolu Agency that Islamophobia in Europe was triggered by images often raised by the media, particularly in the West.

“The face of Islam that is often displayed is one that is full of violence and acts of terror,” he said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will reopen all places of worship from July 1 after three and half month though Friday prayers will continue to remain suspended.

The UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced the reopening of mosques but Friday prayers will remain suspended and mosques will be open only to 30

percent of its capacity during the initial phase, The News reported.

The spokesman for the National Authority for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Dr Saif Al Dhaheri said most mosques would now reopen to the public for daily prayers but Friday prayers are not yet permitted.

The UAE had suspended the public prayers in all places of

worship on March 16 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The authorities said that elderly people or children under 12 should not attend prayers. Similarly, anyone with a chronic illness should avoid going to the mosque. Some mosques will remain closed, including roadside mosques, mosques in industrial areas and prayer rooms in malls, it is also stated.

UAE to reopen Mosques on July 1

www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020 WORLD NEWS I 17

The Multi-System Operators (MSOs), who are the main players involved in Cable TV industry in Indian-administered Kashmir urged the government to lift the ban on channels airing Islamic content.

The government has banned around 24 foreign channels including those airing Islamic content.

Speaking with Greater Kashmir, the cable operators said they request authorities to grant permission to air channels airing Islamic content.

“We were asked to stop airing 24 channels, including Islamic channels aired from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran. There is a tremendous

demand for religious channels in Kashmir and as such we are under pressure from our subscribers,” said Amjad Noor, one of the cable operators.

Noor said the channels they were airing were purely Islamic channels and had nothing to do with politics or current affairs.

“We are in a catch-22 situation as we are unable to justify the ban to our subscribers. This is resulting in huge losses to our business and due to increasing competition by big players the day won’t be far when thousands of people associated with Cable TV industry in the Valley will lose their livelihood,” Noor said.

He said the government must

reconsider the ban on the channels and allow them to air only those channels with pure religious content.

Noor said considering that Hajj was approaching demand for Islamic channels will also increase.

“This year, due to COVID19 the pilgrimage for people from different countries stands cancelled, so people are looking forward to watch the live telecast of Hajj on Saudi TV and Karbala TV,” Noor said.

He said since in 1997 the local Cable TV operators in Kashmir have been through lot of problems.

“Despite all odds, we managed to run the show. Banning the channels with good viewership is unjustified,” said another cable TV operator.

TV operators urge lifting ban on Islamic channels

Hamas proposes new leadership to achieve unity in Palestine

Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh said that the resistance group has proposed creating a new leadership to represent all parties to achieve national unity in Palestine.

“As Hamas, we have started work to ensure the national unity of Palestine inside and outside and to eliminate the separation points,” Haniyeh said in talks organized by the Yedi Hilal Foundation.

Haniyeh stressed that they had to immediately act to achieve national unity at a time when attempts are being made to purge Palestine through Israeli annexation plans in the West Bank and the so-called

“deal of the century”.Referring to a meeting in Gaza

attended by all parties, especially Fatah, he said they told them that reconciliation is necessary to prevent the annexation of the West Bank.

“With a common decision, we showed how we will stand against the annexation of the West Bank with a strong voice,” he said.

“Israel has several strategic goals related to the annexation of the West Bank. Israel says Palestine is a Jewish state and wants to legalize this thesis,” he said, adding if this plan is internationally accepted, there would be a legal step to

completely remove Palestinians from the territories.

Underlining that Zionist attacks backed by the US continue in Gaza and the West Bank, he said Gaza has experienced three major attacks and wars in the past eight years.

The economic blockade imposed by Israel has serious consequences aimed at completely destroying Palestinians, he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his government would formally annex the Jordan Valley and all settlement blocs in the West Bank.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds, is seen as occupied territory under international law, making all Jewish settlements there as well as the planned annexation illegal.

Palestinian officials have threatened to abolish bilateral agreements with Israel if it goes ahead with the annexation, which will further undermine the two-state solution.

The annexation stems from US President Donald Trump’s plan which was announced on Jan. 28. It refers to Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and recognizes Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank.

18I SPORT www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020

Ten players dropped from Pakistan’s England tour over Covid-19

Thee board chief executive Wasim Khan said the players can rejoin the squad of 18 players if they later test negative.

Pakistan’s cricket team arrived for its tour of England without 10 players after they tested positive for coronavirus for a second time, the country’s cricket board said.

The board chief executive Wasim Khan said the players can rejoin the squad of 18 players if they later test negative.

After first testing positive, follow-up tests were given to Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain and Kashif Bhatti. Of those missing the start, only wicketkeeper Rizwan would be classed a first-choice Test player.

Pakistan’s tour of England is set to include three Tests and three Twenty20 internationals.

The squad will have a 14-day isolation period on arrival before continuing their preparations ahead of the first Test with two internal four-day warm-up matches.

It is expected that the first Test will take place in Manchester in August, but the England and Wales Cricket Board said the behind-closed-doors match schedule would be announced in “due course”.

The Pakistan Cricket Board expressed concern over the positive results from 10 of the 29 cricketers chosen for the tour. The only good news was that none have showed symptoms, and all have time to recover.

The board met via video conference and approved a 2020-21 budget of around $46 million, including for the Pakistan Super League, its premier T20 tournament.

The PCB had to suspend the PSL in March but hopes to stage the playoffs this year. Peshawar was added as a fifth venue for the 2021 tournament starting in February.

Pakistan is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, with nearly 200,000 declared cases and more than 4,000 deaths, while cases are falling in Britain.

Women around the world joined the first virtual Women’s Fitness Festival (WFF) by the Saudi Sports for All Federation (SFA) for free.

The event live streamed on the WFF’s dedicated YouTube channel on the evening of June 11th andl concluded with a closing discussion on June 13.

Over the course of three days, participants enjoyed sessions on meal preparation and nutrition, workouts and fitness, and various panel discussions.

Moderated by Saudi Arabian

comedian and activist Dr. Hatoon Kadi, the three panel discussions hosted thought leaders discussing females breaking barriers in sports

As for the daily 30-minute workout segments, they’re designed to be performed at home with little-to-no equipment, and cater to all fitness levels, with modifications provided for beginners.

However more advanced participants can enjoy a workout with award-winning athlete Manal Rostom, who will deliver a live Nike Training Club session and

participate in a panel discussion.The 30-minute meal preparation

and nutrition sessions, on the other hand, will boast a holistic approach including easy and conscientious nutrition.

The SFA is a proactive community sport and wellness organisation aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, partnering with government organisations, sports delivery bodies, sports federations, and the wider public and private sector.

Saudi online fitness festival to encourage women in sports

www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020 SPORT I19

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters suggested the proposed Saudi takeover of Newcastle United had become complicated but hoped to have a conclusion to the process shortly.

The Premier League’s board has been carrying out an examination of the proposed takeover as part of its “owners and directors test” which evaluates the suitability of ownership groups.

A group fronted by British financier Amanda Staveley, with an expected 80 per cent investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF and 10 per cent involvement from billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, made a reported £300 million (RM1.6 billion)

bid to buy the club from British businessman Mike Ashley in April.

Speaking to a hearing of the British parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Masters was asked about the uncertainty that Newcastle fans have been facing over their club’s future.

“I do appreciate that uncertainty, I cannot comment in terms of timing or the specifics on any particular takeover but in a perfect world, takeovers would happen cleanly, clearly and in a timely fashion. Sometimes, things get complicated,” he said.

Masters said that he was bound by confidentiality clauses in all takeover processes and so was not able to discuss details of the case.

Saudi takeover of Newcastle is complicated, says Premier League chief

The UAE could host this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) if the coronavirus pandemic does not ease in the country.

“Let us first see, we will try to stage it in India and if the situation does not allow then we will certainly look at other options,” IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told AFP.

“We will see how the situation is in the next month or two and then take a call accordingly,” adding that options included staging the cash-rich tournament abroad.

Pandemic cases have surged in the nation of 1.3 billion people. India now has the fourth highest caseload in the world, concentrated in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai which are cricket hubs.

The world’s wealthiest Twenty20

tournament has twice been held outside India in years that it clashed with national elections.

South Africa hosted the second IPL in 2009, and the first half of the 2014 season took place in United Arab Emirates.

The UAE and Sri Lankan cricket boards have already shown interest in hosting the tournament this year.

Patel said the IPL is still looking at a window ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is scheduled for October-November.

But the International Cricket Council has deferred taking a decision on the fate of the T20 showpiece event because of pandemic worries.

“We are looking at a September-October window for the IPL, but it

depends on the other tournaments as well,” said Patel, who played 21 Tests for India, said.

“Nothing certain at the moment, but we are keeping our plans in place to make the IPL happen.”

The IPL is usually a seven-week tournament, although BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said he expects it to be shortened this year.

The Asia Cup, which will be a T20 event, is also scheduled to be held in September with UAE and Sri Lanka as possible hosts.

The IPL should have started on March 29 but it has been repeatedly postponed because of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown which is only gradually being eased.

UAE could host Indian PL

In Case YouMissed It

“When they drag on, sometimes there’s a requirement for information. It’s a relatively rare occurrence,” he said.

“I think it’s very difficult to keep a constant dialogue with fans about what’s an entirely confidential process.

“We can’t provide a running commentary on things and, as I said, I just can’t talk about the specifics of this particular process.”

Masters said he hoped the process would conclude “shortly”.

One of the issues that has been raised by critics of the takeover is Saudi Arabia’s response to cases of unauthorised broadcasting of Premier League games in the country.

Last month, a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel told Saudi Arabia it had breached global rules on intellectual property rights by failing to prosecute a pirate broadcaster of sports and movies in a dispute with Gulf neighbour Qatar regarding the BeoutQ channel, which broadcast Premier League games.

“BeoutQ is now off the air, and what we want, off the back of the WTO report, is for Saudi Arabia to respond positively the situation and to allow sports rights-holders to take their rights,” said Masters. — Reuters

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By Irfan Raja

22 I FEATURED www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020

“Public interest” and “For Your Safety” that is what European democracies are doing now for public safety against the coronavirus.

In a similar bid, the French President Macron Emmanuel introduced a coronavirus safety face mask to French public as “National pride” because it is 100% made in France.

Hang on a minute! Is not the same France that once banned face veil for only a handful of Muslim women including French reverts? But at that time in the best interest of French society, it was revealed to the public that Muslim women face veil is a “Symbol of oppression”, “Health risk” and a “Threat” and even it could be a “National shame” because it is out dated and misfit for a modern secular society.

Fair enough! I do remember the day in 2006, I was a MA journalism student at the University Leeds. Like many other students and academics, I was shocked to know that the

British parliamentarian Jack Straw had provoked anger and outrage among the British Muslim community by saying that “Visible statement of separation and difference”, was actually one of the former students union presidents.

I found that the University of Leeds, students banned him “in protest at what they said were his anti-libertarian policies”.

Since then, never ending veil debate has started, people have written Ph.D. thesis and thousands of newspaper and journal articles, books, manuscripts, hold public discussions and debates, delivered lectures and made documentaries, films and produced teasing caricatures.

More worryingly, European newspapers and broadcasters ran disgraceful campaigns to demonised Muslim veil wearing women 24/7 to an extent that countries including France banned it.

My owned research on veil shows

how British conservative and liberal broadsheets and tabloids published a series of articles, editorials, features and comments pieces on the veil that made it a “national debate” bigger than Britain’s illegal wars and climate change.

The press perceives the veil as a clash between Muslims and non-Muslims and presents it as a “terror threat”. Besides, several leading European parliamentarians have made it a regular habit to attack the veil that is an easy way of getting media publicity.

Today, the veil is a talk of the town. Still, the majority of the people are confused and ill-informed on this subject. Thomas Sealy raised an important question: “Is there a difference between the niqab and a face mask?”

So what is that so special in a piece of cloth which makes it a “National pride”? Obviously, if it fits into government policy it’s a pride otherwise veil can be regarded as a

Will Facemask Modify the Veil Debate in Europe?

By Irfan Raja

www.pi-media.co.uk I July 2020 FEATURED I 23

“Shame” and “Outdated”. So if the veil is an out dated

practice and a terror threat, then why France is driving the entire nation to adopt it? In the words of George Orwell, the veil is a perfect example of “Double Speak”.

In France, it is prohibited for a Muslim women to cover the face but she will also be fined for not wearing a face mask- Is it forcing a Muslim woman not to wear a veil is nothing less than a mental torture and abusive?.

Pity though, how a piece of cloth fosters divisions in coronavirus crisis? Mainly because Muslims are easy targets as Richard Adams summed it: “Hijab ban attempt is ‘racism dressed up as liberalism”.

When James McAuley, Washington Post, Paris correspondent posted an article, along a commenthttps://twitter.com/jameskmcauley, “On the ironies of mask requirements in the country that brought you burka ban” via The Washington Post article: “France mandates masks to control the coronavirus. Burqas remain banned”.

Within minutes, a thread @Washingtonpost started that turned Twitter into a battleground between supporters and opponents of veil wearing women. Everyone seems to be a scholar of Islam, a usual practice during Muslims related discussions and debates. But, how many Twitter warriors have read a chapter of the holy Qur’an An-Nisa to understand what exactly veil is?

Veil Women Image in British Press:

Mostly, the western media portrays veil wearing women as “oppressed” and “backward”. The conservative press support ban on veil while the liberal press suggests that women should be free to decide.

But, is the west really concern about oppressed women? Because many European countries have treated the veil wearing Muslim women as badly as the oppressed ones elsewhere.

That is banning Muslim women wearing burka and bracketing them as “letterboxes” and “bank-robbers”.

These are thoughts of the British PM Boris Johnson, so what can you expect from others?

Now compare French and Taliban views of Muslim women veil. Are they any different? Both did the same that is forced women to adopt their way of wearing, French banned veil wearing and the Taliban made it mandatory.

Isn’t the politics of veil? Because if the west truly value women freedom it should not force them to wear or not to wear but rather give women a choice.

But it’s all politics, Katharine Viner equated, “Feminism as imperialism” and unknotted false claims of the western leaders, especially George W. Bush who “bombed Afghanistan to liberate women from burkas” then used the same logic to bomb Iraq because he did not bear the pain of Iraqi women in suffering.

Viner raised a logical point that women sufferings are everywhere, so “To justify another war. Where next? China because of its anti-girl one-child policy? India because of widow-burning outrages? Britain because of its criminally low rape conviction rate?”

Janine Rich disclosed the popular western discourse on Islam and Muslims as of the “Oppressed Muslim Women”. For decades, western powers are successfully using it to legalize their attacks on Muslim countries. Too often, sections of the western media push the debates on Muslim women using “oppression” as fascination.

Rich argues that “The complex discourses surrounding women in the Islamic world have a long and deeply political history, and this narrative has been renewed and re-utilized numerous times to garner widespread public support for Western military intervention in the Middle East”.

What the western media and polity missed to share with their public at home is that Muslim women’s rights and duties are far more in order as described in al-Qur’an. Moreover, the Afghan women were allowed to vote long before the European women.

Truth has always been there but

the real issue is people don’t want it because sometimes it contradicts with their self-designed way of life.

Perhaps, a best-concluded sentence would be that it is the apolitical weapon of Europe that shows nothing but “Double Standards”. One rule for a minority and the other rule for the elites.

If the European democracy has reached to such lower level then Europe must rethink and revisit its ideas of human rights and personal freedoms.

What is still misunderstood in Europe?

Underneath the thread of French Macron argued that we Europeans are embracing face masks to save lives. Of course, any sensible person would agree with this argument, but what exactly is that Islam says about the veil? What does it require from a believer? What is the wisdom behind its teachings? What are their impacts and relevance to modern societies?

Going back to Life-saving argument, remember that Islam talks about life after death that is everlasting and perpetual, so why would anyone risk an everlasting loss?

They should disregard a modest practice only because a fraction of conservative Europeans don’t like it? Think if someone demands to ban drinking, smoking and drug use because it all kills and cost NHS £2.7 billion each year. Does veil cost anything to the NHS?

The irony is that we take what we like and leave what we don’t like. Think about Christianity, Judaism, and other religions that preach modesty- So why Europe is so worried about a Muslim woman only? After all, it is just a piece of cloth, isn’t it?

Irfan Raja is a Academic, analyst and activist based in

the U.K., masters of arts in international journalism at the

University of Leeds, holds a Ph.D. at the University of Huddersfield.

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