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Red Pepper is a magazine I read a lot, although don't always buy; it usually contains thought-provoking political discussion which is radical without being crazy. In the current issue, there is an article (not online) from Hind Hassan, a member of Student Respect (I'm not sure if that's the Galloway or SWP faction; her website links to what appears to be the Galloway faction's website) but writing personally, about the recolonisation of the National Union of Students by New Labour. This is something I have personally witnessed in the 1990s, as I was involved in student politics then as well.

Channel 4's Dispatches programme tonight, In God's Name, featured David Modell following some Christian evangelists as they went looking for "souls" on various run-down council estates, lobbied against the proposed changes to the British embryology laws and campaigned against the Abbey Mills mosque in east London. While there were some cheap shots against their expressions of faith, the film did expose the ugly side of Christian agitation against abortion and embryology research.

Clipping of picture of a Muslima in niqab from today's Observer

This picture appeared in the Observer today, on page 19 of the Review section next to this article by Miranda Sawyer. The article is about a programme on the BBC World Service called Europe's Angry Young Muslims, about alienated young Muslims in Holland. As you can see, it shows a Muslim woman in a niqaab next to the quote:

'Tolerance is not a positive thing': Europe's Angry Young Muslims on the World Service

Last week I posted about the Daily Express's slander on our community (also see here and here) and, in particular, on the Muslim Council and Muslim Association. The leader, in particular, accused the community of protesting against insults to our religion while remaining silent "in the face of atrocities carried out in the name of Islam" such as the murder of Ken Bigley.

Osama Saeed has reprinted an article from yesterday's Sunday Express (via PhobeWatch) which trots out a number of tired canards regarding the Muslim community's response to terrorism, claiming that Labour are getting tired of our community (read: they cannot buy off with hate laws our opposition to their bombing of Muslim countries) because our so-called community leaders have failed to show leadership to our community. The Express quoted an anonymous "Home Office source" as follows:

"This idea of community leadership is a complete nonsense. The Muslim Council of Britain purports to represent the Muslim community but what have they actually done to show leadership since 9/11? on all the major issues – on the 7/7 terror attacks, on the cartoon row they have hid behind the Home Office.

"It is now taken as read by the Government that these self-appointed groups really don't have any power or influence over the Muslim populations. They got what they wanted from the Government but there was no real delivery in return. Now it is clear that they can't deliver."