Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Anjuman Rahman
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World’s first hijabi skater: ‘I want to show the world that our women are powerful’
Over the past few years, the number of women from the Middle East participating in international sporting events has risen steadily. The glass ceiling appears to have been broken. One of these athletes is international figure skater Zahra Lari, who believes it is important to inspire Arab women to break…
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I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security
Muslims have become a convenient focus for the rage that the world feels after every terrorist act around the world. However, for the contributors to I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in Times of National Security, enough is enough. I agree. Muslims are being blamed too often for not doing…
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Colorado rep: ‘As a practising Muslim, Palestinian American, you mobilise advocacy every day’
Colorado elected its first Muslim lawmaker in state history, during a night like no other following four years of social, political, and indeed, emotional turmoil. Iman Jodeh is no stranger to the US political arena, which she believes has failed to live up to America’s founding ideals, a place that…
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This Arab artist hits the mark by looking at where British Muslims feel safest
Art communicates across every border and culture. Visual art is open and ambiguous, and allows imaginations to wander in time and space. Through London-based artist Alaa Alsaraji, they even wander into people’s homes. With her family coming from Iraq, she was born in Iran and raised in Austria. Alsaraji has…
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‘My activism is fueled with love’, says Uyghur campaign searching for her disappeared sister
China’s decades-long abuse of Uyghurs Muslims is now well known, with satellite pictures of detention camps circulating along with the desperate testimonies of former inmates and their families, a horrid picture is being formed of what has been described as the worst human rights crisis in the world. Many Uyghurs…
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Israel is subjecting Palestinian children to physical and psychological abuse
“They destroyed the front door, entered my room, covered my face with a bag and took me away,” explained Abdullah. “They told my father that I would return the next day.” However, he did not return to his family until the following year and was detained six more times. This…
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Palestine’s Hotdog Van man is successful, despite the pandemic
The infrastructure of the Israeli occupation of Palestine is designed to have a negative impact on the lives of Palestinians, and it does. The dire situation has been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. No doubt to the delight of the Israelis, there can be no place easier to lock down…
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Biden is copying Clinton in embracing the pro-Israel lobby
The future that the US has planned for Palestine is already determined, no matter whether President Donald Trump is re-elected or Joe Biden replaces him in the White House after next month’s election. Nevertheless, it is Biden, with a sizable lead over Trump in the national polls, who Palestinian leaders…
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The Israel ‘peace deals’ are post-Trump insurance policies for Arab dictators, Palestinian activist says
Israel’s peace deals with Gulf states did not come as a surprise to many, especially not pro-democracy Palestinian activist Iyad El-Baghdadi. “We knew they were going to try to rush through things before [US President Donald] Trump leaves the White House. Maybe the surprising part is how one-sided it seems,”…
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Rihanna under fire for playing Islamic hadith during lingerie show
Globally renowned superstar Rihanna has been criticised for using a song that contains a narration from an Islamic Hadith during her recent lingerie show. Released on Amazon Prime on Friday, the track featured in the Savage X Fenty soundtrack contains a Hadith – Islamic phrases from the Prophet Muhammed (peace…
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Winter is coming, but internally displaced persons in Syria are not prepared
Waves of internally displaced persons have increased the difficulties of everyday life for civilians in the north-west areas of Syria. Although a ceasefire was agreed in March, civilians in the region still face a new humanitarian crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. To this has to be added spiralling food…
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Legacy of Empire – Britain, Zionism and the Creation of Israel
The Black Lives Matter protests have brought to the fore the issue of slavery upon which many British fortunes were built. This has led to calls for schools to take another look at their approach to the British Empire and its consequences. In many respects, this is a taboo subject,…
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A Palestinian author is reigniting hope in Lebanon with candles and celebrities
The explosion in Beirut last month could not have come at a worse time for children and families. In a country that is already under enormous economic and social strain, it was a tragedy. The catastrophic blast in the port of Beirut killed nearly 200 people and destroyed thousands of…
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Uyghur rights activist Arslan Hidayet on the lack of international support and solidarity with Uyghur Muslims
China’s crackdown on its Uyghur citizens, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority, has faced international scrutiny in recent months. This, though, is not enough, Arslan Hidayet, the General Secretary of the Uyghur Revival Association, has insisted. Hidayet also exposed the inconsistency in support for the Uyghurs and the unquestionable obligation that…
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Mona Relief Yemen CEO: ‘When the war ends, Yemenis will rebuild their country with their own hands’
Yemen’s economy and healthcare system have been devastated by five years of ongoing Saudi-led war, leaving the people of Yemen powerless and struggling to survive. “The most harmful damage in this dirty war is the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, which are being launched everywhere in the country. As a civilian, I…
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Anger as Kanye West uses names of Islamic angels for new shoe line
American rapper Kanye West, who established his footwear line in 2009, is being accused of disrespecting Islam by naming two of the latest editions to his Yeezy Boost trainers after the religion’s archangels. Adidas revealed the new shoes Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Israfil and Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Asriel last…
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Scotland’s first hijabi TV reporter: ‘I want to achieve my positions retaining my Muslim identity’
A Muslim woman has become the first hijab-wearing journalist to anchor a report on Scottish TV news, after a ten-year career in journalism. Tasnim Nazeer, 34, made history following her appearance on STV news reporting on the lack of support for bereaved families in Scotland. She explained how her attempts…
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As South Africa fought for freedom we must do the same for Gaza, says Palestine activist
Action, rather than words, is desperately being called for by Palestine Action’s Stewart Walker*. It is time to seek other means by which to convey to the UK, Israel and the international community the intolerable conditions and misery under which the Palestinians in Gaza have been living for decades. “If…
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Comedian Amer Zahr: ‘American politics affects Palestinians more than it affects Americans’
Mass slaughter and widespread destruction are no laughing matter – and yet, it seems the comedy scene in Palestine is thriving. Palestinian-American activist and comedian Amer Zahr, the founder and producer of the annual 1001 Laughs Ramallah Comedy Festival, is a rising star in both the US and the Middle…
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No Way to Gaza: A Chronicle of Adventure and Fraud Under the Egyptian Blockade
When we arrived at the Rafah border entrance, the policeman handed us the passports and said, in a very poor English: “Go back to Brazil,” pointing his index finger towards the exit. Sometimes it takes one shocking visual image or clip to finally shake even the laziest, most apathetic, self-absorbed…
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Doctor: Psychological support is vital for Palestinians in Gaza, but the real problems are the occupation, blockade
People in Gaza suffer crushing mental pressures due to extreme economic deprivation, the ongoing siege and over-crowded living conditions. This is on top of having endured three brutal wars over the past decade. Dr. Mohamed Altawil, who founded the Palestine Trauma Centre (PTC) in Gaza 13 years ago, has studied…
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For one Palestinian, a hunger strike was the ‘last resort’ against Israeli racism
The hunger strike that Palestinian journalist Muhammad Al-Qeeq started in an Israeli detention centre lasted 94 days before he was released in May 2016. It was, he told me, a “last resort” in the face of “Israeli racism”. Today he is well-known for highlighting the plight of Palestinians held by…
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The journalist who threw his shoes at George W Bush ‘would do it again’
It is seventeen years since US bombs started to rain on Baghdad. The illegal US-led 2003 invasion caused more than 150,000 deaths, cost trillions of dollars and its repercussions continue to have serious effects across the region, on foreign policy and on thousands of families. The invasion was a crime…
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Black lives should matter in the Middle East too, so where is the rage?
In response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, people around the world have taken to the streets in huge numbers in solidarity with protesters in America. The Black Lives Matter movement is gaining momentum and the rage has gone global. Except, it must be said, in the Middle…