Articles
We've had enough . . . disband, shut up and get a job
Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 07:00
Unsurprisingly, Anjem Choudary and his small band of not-so-merry men in Islam4UK have finally called off their planned march through Wootton Bassett. Well done Anjem, but why stop there?
You could do every Muslim in the UK a genuine favour by just shutting up altogether.
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Farooq Siddique: Islam4UK does not represent Muslims in the Bristol area
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Wootton Bassett has become known for hundreds of people lining the streets to honour the war dead.
Anjem Choudary and his Islam4UK group have noticed. They are planning to honour the "real Afghan war dead" by carrying symbolic coffins on a march through the mourning town.
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Farooq Siddique: Being lazy is a downward spiral to oblivion
Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 07:00
I've had an incredibly lazy, long Christmas holiday weekend.
For the first time in a very, very long time, I've done virtually nothing, but sleep, eat, watch TV and play computer games!
Being lazy is a downward spiral to oblivion!
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Farooq Siddique: If I were to doubt Jesus, I would no longer be Muslim
Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 07:00
Ask any Muslim and they will tell you that Jesus was not born on December 25; that historically, December 25 was the time for celebrating the birth of Mithra, the Sun-god; that indeed, most of the rituals of modern day Christianity are remarkably similar to that ancient Persian religion; that even the Christmas tree is a pagan ritual; and that Jesus stood against all notions of the capitalist festival that Christmas has today become.
But Muslims should know that Christians lament all this too.
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Farooq Siddique: A sign of 'Islamic power' or just a place of worship?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 07:00
A couple of weeks ago, the Swiss voted to ban the building of any more minarets – there are only four in all of Switzerland.
The right-wing Swiss People's Party's (SVP) advertising campaign, which proposed the ban, included a poster featuring a menacing black burkha-clad figure standing in front of an arsenal of black minarets that looked like missiles rising up from a Swiss flag.
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Farooq Siddique: We are all ambassadors for Islam
Tuesday, December 08, 2009, 07:00
Being a Muslim in Bristol or anywhere else in the western world is, for many, becoming increasingly difficult.
And I don't mean in a "losing faith" way. I mean in the burden of growing responsibility it carries.
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Farooq Siddique: A symbolic act of defiance against temptation
Tuesday, December 01, 2009, 07:00
Last Friday, about four million Muslims from every nation on Earth, gathered in Saudi Arabia, in the desert of Arafah, as part of the Hajj, the greatest annual pilgrimage known to humankind.
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Farooq Siddique: We must respond, not dismiss, negative comments
Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 15:00
If you wanted to comment on my column last week, you needed to be quick.
What began as a downpour of negativity quickly turned into a raging torrent of criticisms; within 48 hours, it was all gone, replaced with a simple message: "We have suspended comments on Farooq's column because of the nature of some of the postings." .
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Ignorance is causing resentment of Muslims in UK
Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 15:00
Last week, I supported the idea of a memorial for the tens of thousands of Muslims who sacrificed their lives defending this country in the two world wars.
I certainly did not expect the vociferous backlash I got in the online comments.
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Farooq Siddique: Don't forget role of Muslims in world wars
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 16:00
On Sunday, I attended the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph in Bristol. On a cold and down cast day, it was heart-warming to see so many children come along with their parents, to remember the sacrifice of so many in the world wars.
But how many of us will be aware of the magnificent role that hundreds of thousands of Muslims played in those wars?
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Farooq Siddique: Question Time - Nick Griffin
Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 07:00
I still cringe when I recall how, on BBC's Question Time, Nick Griffin applauded along with the audience "each swing of proverbial baseball bat around his proverbial head"; apparently incapable of realising that the audience and his fellow panellists were making a mockery of him and his party policies!
But in reality it's not how extremists say what they are saying, it's the chance to say it to an even bigger audience. It's the legitimisation of their extreme point of view that is the aim; the "they have a point" mantra. That's why the extremists so crave media and public attention.
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Farooq Siddique: Nick Griffin was hit by verbal truck
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 07:00
Last week began with BBC's Panorama exposing the kind of racism that still infests some parts of Bristol and ended bizarrely with BBC's Question Time giving a platform to the kind of intolerance we saw on Panorama.
I understand the argument that we need to challenge extremist views head-on and I'm all for free speech, but the way it was handled on Question Time has in no way assured me that this is the best way to undermine an extremist ideology
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Farooq Siddique: PREVENT can only work if local authorities trust the Muslim commuties.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 07:00
On Saturday, the Guardian newspaper published some revelations about the Government's counter terrorism strategy known as Prevent.
According to the revelations, Prevent is about spying on the Muslim communities even if no crime is suspected or committed. Youth workers, teachers, lecturers, community groups, mosques, Imams, everyone it seems, is being paid to gather intelligence on anyone with a Muslim name, practising or not, and passing that information to the security services.
Bristol is one of the 82 councils in the country where Prevent operates.
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Farooq Siddique: Islamophobia
Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 07:00
Last Thursday, the Evening Post reported the visit to Bristol of Shahid Malik, minister for communities and local government, who praised Bristol's Muslim community for informing the police about would-be suicide bomber Andrew Ibrahim.
Mr Malik said: "The fact that it was the Muslim community that came forward with information is something that Muslims globally can take great heart from.
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Farooq Siddique: Easton - Community Cohesion at work.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009, 07:00
When was the last time you walked through Easton? Or drove through, except along the arterial Stapleton Road, and even then with the doors locked and as fast as possible?
It's true, Easton has a bad reputation; a destructive concoction of drugs, prostitution and a host of other ailments, affecting the aspirations and self-worth of the people living here. A side the media focuses on.
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Farooq Siddique: A Muslim in Bristol
Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 07:00
Last week, the Daily Star published "exclusive" photographs of the English Defence League burning a Nazi swastika, in an effort to show that the EDL were not racist or fascist.
In its apparent new role as a PR agent for the EDL, the paper went on to attack Prime Minister Gordon Brown for "letting the nation become so bitterly divided".
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Farooq Siddique: A Muslim in Bristol
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
For the last couple of weeks, as many Post readers will be aware, a trial was taking place in Bristol of Hashi Omer; a 19-year-old Muslim of Somali descent.
He was accused of failing to disclose information to police regarding the terrorist activity of Isa Ibrahim. Last Friday, the jury at Bristol Crown Court cleared Hashi of doing any wrong.
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Moral compass points the way
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Last week, I talked about the techniques used by the CIA to obtain information from alleged terrorists.
My view was that some of those techniques, for what I thought obvious reasons, were unacceptable, and not part of the values we hold dear in the West; values which are worth fighting for. To read the full article. Click Here
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We all have a duty to challenge extremists
Tuesday, June 09, 2009, 07:00
It was predictable, it was expected, and it was, frankly inevitable; the BNP won two seats, their first ever, in the European Parliament.
It is a platform from which they can do some serious damage to race relations in our country.
For me, it is heartbreaking.
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Let us follow Churchill, not the BNP
Tuesday, June 02, 2009, 07:00
In two days time, it will be time to make our voice heard in the European and local elections on Thursday.
I fear that in our disdain for our current crop of politicians, we will end up boosting the British National Party, abdicating our collective responsibility to our society.
In October 1990, the BNP was described by the European Parliament's committee on racism and xenophobia as an "openly Nazi party".
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Vote to keep fascists out
Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 07:00
The ongoing revelations of some of our MPs' expense claims continue to shed light on the darker side of politics; self interest, greed, a lack of principle and downright fraud.
"I think I got into politics too late, all the perks are going!" said one prospective MP, who shall remain nameless.
To make a joke of that kind in the current climate is poor.
It shows complete contempt for the system, and is further evidence that some of our politicians, even prospective ones, are completely out of touch with the mood of their constituents.
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It's dangerous not to vote
Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 07:00
Now is not a good time to be an MP. So far, 45 Labour, 36 Conservative, 10 Liberal Democrat and seven other members of the esteemed Houses of Parliament have made "questionable" expenses claims.
It has left the electorate outraged. Wherever I have gone, wherever I have stood, even for a moment, people have come up to me to ask me what I think about it, and tell me how angry they are about all of this.
So, against this great tide of public outrage, would MPs dare to justify what to everyone else obviously appears to be blatant pilfering?
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Sharing can lead the way to tolerance
Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 07:00
We live in an age of growing individualism. Actually talking, face to face with real people, appears to be optional rather than absolutely necessary.
PlayStations and Xboxes, Satellite TV and the internet, acting in a pincer movement, resources combined, enabling us to wallow in our own privacy, in our own virtual world.
We are intoxicated with the worldwide web, which has increasingly become our source for news and views, opinions and facts; our basis for what we think of others, of the world around us.
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Amazing event proves it's time to trust our young people
Tuesday, May 05, 2009, 07:0
On Thursday evening, at Circomedia in Portland Square, near Cabot Circus, an ordinarily unremarkable event took place.
But we are not living in ordinary times, and because of that, the fact the event took place at all, has huge potential for the Muslim communities of Bristol.
The free-entry public event was entitled Spittin' Light; Healing the Hood, featuring some of urban music's most powerful voices, a diverse range of artists from the US, the UK and local talent from here in Bristol..
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Terror threat is no excuse for mistakes
Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 07:00
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the high-profile arrests of 12 overseas Muslim students of Pakistani origin, as part of massive anti-terror raids across the North West of England.
Scotland Yard's anti-terror tsar Bob Quick was forced to resign after being photographed with sensitive documents; the arrests dominated media coverage for days, with exclusives on who and what the targets were; football stadiums amongst them; the governments of Pakistan and Britain blamed each other; the police were, initially, given more time to question the alleged conspirators under the new extended detention laws – individuals can be held up to 28 days without charge.
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Bristol Somalis tell another side to pirates' story
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 08:00
In recent weeks and days, one could be forgiven for thinking that we have gone back in time; the antics of pirates, of all things, are dominating the news.
No, we are not on the set of Johnny Depp's latest film, this is really happening, there is a real Captain Jack Sparrow, somewhere off the coast of the Horn of Africa. Pirates are marauding their way back to prominence, harassing one the world's busiest shipping corridors. And, it seems, the world's mighty military armadas are almost powerless to stop them. .
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Farooq Siddique: Confronting exteremists
Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 08:00
Once again, as everyone prepared to enjoy a warm Easter weekend, alleged terror plots abounded. Our security services swooped on suspected wannabe terrorists in the North West.
Meanwhile, closer to home, the two suspects arrested last year in Bristol under anti-terror laws appeared before a court to plead not guilty to the charges against them. The case will now go to trial later this year.
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Shattering myths on both sides
Tuesday, April 07, 2009, 08:00
On Thursday, at the Watershed, young Muslims and Jews from around Bristol were invited to take part in a debate entitled "Gaza – Your Questions".
The debate was organised by the Bristol City Council and hosted by the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society and Radio Salaam Shalom, which broadcast the debate live. If you missed it, you can hear it on their website.
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Bridging the great divide
Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 08:00
ON Sunday, in Bristol, as reported in the Post, I helped organise the first regional gathering of influential members of the diverse Muslim communities; men, women, elders and young people from across the ethnic divide.
And they came from all over the South West including Exeter, Yeovil, Bournemouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Dorchester, Weymouth, Chippenham, Gloucester and Gillingham, as well as unswerving support from Plymouth, Taunton and Trowbridge
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We all have big potential
Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 08:00
The passing of a close family member or close friend is often a time for reflection, and the passing of a young life is even more poignant. On Sunday, at the age of just 27, reality television star Jade Goody lost her courageous and public battle against cervical cancer.
At times like this, we are reminded, if we care to listen, of our own mortality, our weakness and our fragility as human beings.
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Luton louts are minority
Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 08:00
Last week, I received many calls from concerned, disappointed and upset Bristol Muslims about the antics of a few young men in Luton.
They wanted to know what could be done to stop those "idiots in Luton". For too long, the vast majority of the Muslim community, here in Bristol and across the country, have been too polite to the likes of the Luton protesters.
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Honour the true martyrs
Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 08:00
LAST week, a small group of gunmen captured on blurry images on CCTV cameras virtually put the final nails into the coffin of international cricket in Pakistan, at least for the foreseeable future.
For the country itself, cricket is a religion. The faith of the people has been badly shaken.
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Funding and Issues of Race
Tuesday, March 03, 2009, 08:16
On Saturday, the Post reported that black Liberal Democrat councillor Shirley Brown used the term "coconut" to describe Asian Tory councillor Jay Jethwa.
"Coconut" is a term used by black or Asian people to describe someone who is seen to have "sold out" his or her own people to the "system", hence "brown on the outside, white on the inside". It is very offensive.
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A Victory for Terrorism?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 08:00
Next month, the Government is due to launch its new counter- terrorism strategy, known as Contest 2. Details of the report were leaked last week and, if they are true, there is cause for concern
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Empathy Can Never be Biased
Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 08:00
LAST week, in a live television interview, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could barely contain his emotion as he talked about the loss of life caused by the bushfires that ravaged parts of his country. He described the ferocity of the flames as "hell on earth".
The imagery conjured up by that phrase is frightening. We all understand exactly the gravity of what he is describing. Hundreds died. They were people like us; living in a First World country, watching the same TV shows that we do, watching the same movies, speaking the same language, and wearing the same types of clothes that we do.
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Cleric in need of affection
Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 08:00
As the snow melts away from our city streets, it paves the way for our hearts to be warmed by the onset of Valentine's Day on Saturday – a harmless annual opportunity for people to show love and affection towards spouses and partners by exchanging cards and giving flowers. But as always, there are many who just take life too seriously.
Muslim cleric Anjem Chaudhry is one of those poor souls. His comments on his website have been widely reported in the media. He lambasted the celebration of Valentine's Day as "a futile and evil festival" and condemned anyone who joins in as opening the "door to the devil"..
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Generosity At Gala For Gaza
Tuesday, February 03, 2009, 08:00
Last week, the BBC and Sky refused to show the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for Gaza. On Sunday night though, the Muslim communities of Bristol gathered to give the equivalent of a two-finger salute to that decision.
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Ban Is Hard To Fathom
Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 08:00
Last night both the BBC and Sky refused to join ITV, Channel 4 and Five to broadcast an aid appeal for Gaza by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).
The BBC apparently feared losing its impartiality in the eyes of its viewers. It believes that because the Gaza story is still a "current" story, it does not wish to be seen to be taking sides. I cannot even begin to fathom the official reasoning behind the decision on this one.
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The Shame of Silence
Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 08:00
Last week, the Post reported on protesters who, trying to highlight the plight of the people of Gaza, blocked the checkout counters of M&S in Broadmead with trolleys full of goods the company imports from Israel.
The shoppers were outraged at the inconvenience of having their shopping interrupted by what were called "jobless anarchists.
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Gaza Fight is One Sided
Monday, January 19, 2009, 08:00
Last Friday afternoon, the mosques of Bristol came together for the first time ever to organise a public protest march from Easton into the city centre, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; 400 people braved the freezing cold to make their voices heard.
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Palestine's Right to Fight
Wednesday, January 07, 2009, 08:00
I have been inundated with text messages about the Gaza crisis, on subjects like campaigns to boycott Israeli goods, appeals for humanitarian aid and encouraging people to attend demonstrations.
On Saturday, I joined about 500 Bristolians on a march through the city centre to protest about the impending Israeli onslaught. We were welcomed with cheers and the tooting of car horns. I felt a sense of unity and accomplishment. Later that evening though, ignoring the world outcry, Israel invaded Gaza.
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Another Cry for Freedom
Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 08:00
On its Sabbath last Saturday, Israel kicked off its New Year celebrations early by bombing the poor people of Gaza, killing more than 300 in 24 hours.
And what did it bomb? Every town and city in Gaza, a university, police stations, government offices and the tunnels dug into Egypt by the Palestinians to smuggle in supplies of food, medicine and fuel in an attempt to break Israel's economic blockade of Gaza. Israel describes these as "military" targets.
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Journey of a lifetime
Tuesday, December 09, 2008, 08:00
On Sunday, about four million Muslims from every nation on Earth gathered in Saudi Arabia, in the desert of Arafah, as part of the Hajj, the greatest annual pilgrimage known to humankind.
These people, contradicting every evolutionary instinct, stood as equals, representing global humanity, and they did it all day, in the blazing heat of the desert. Why?
The word Arafah means "the meeting place". It refers to the meeting place of Adam and Eve. Muslims believe that when Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, they were separated on this earth. Eventually, God forgave them both, and reunited them at a place since known as the Mount of Mercy in the middle of the desert of Arafah.
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Stop blaming other countries
Tuesday December 2, 2008
Talking about the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "A great multi-faithed democracy has been laid low by terrorists. It raises huge questions about how the world addresses violent extremism."
I agree. But the answers to those questions so far will only exasperate the problem.
Quoting Indian "security sources", the front page weekend headlines of our newspapers were virtually unanimous in linking the attacks in Mumbai to British Muslims from Bradford, Hartlepool, Leeds, etc.
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Unite for all our children
Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 08:00
About 100 children die each year in England and Wales as a result of abuse or neglect. And these are just the most serious cases.
A report last year by the charity the National Children's Bureau found that hospitals in England treat an average of 471 children each week who have sustained deliberate injuries, many of which can be presumed to have been inflicted by parents or carers.
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Embarking On an Era of Hope
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 08:00
LAST week, apparently for the first time since 9/11, the world changed. Where the event of 9/11 left us filled with despair, the event of last week fills us with hope.
And the event? Barack Hussain Obama, pictured below, was elected President of the United States
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New Generation, New Opinions
Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 08:00
ISN'T it saying something about the state of public discourse when virtually all of the headlines in the national newspapers last week were about the obscene messages left on Andrew Sachs's answering machine by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand?
But apart from the obvious, the incident also exposed a generation gap. It reminded me of how advanced in age I am getting.
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Stay Tolerant in Recession
Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 08:00
THE phrase "economy, economy, economy" doesn't quite have the same virtuous ring to it as "education, education, education", but the economy is the hot issue at the moment.
As one economist put it: "Even if you manage to escape the credit crunch, you will not be able to escape the economic carnage that will follow." The end is nigh and all that, right?
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Compassion is Essential
Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 08:00
LAST week, I wrote about the issue of forced marriages and the definition of what amounts to a forced marriage.
Unsurprisingly, it caused quite a stir.
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Fight Forced Marriages
Tuesday, October 07, 2008, 08:00
ONE of the subjects I am most often asked about is the issue of forced marriages within Islam.
Recently, the subject has been even more prominent in my mind because I have, as part of work, dealt with the aftermath of several forced marriages
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A Good Time for Reflection.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 08:00
TODAY or tomorrow, Muslims in Bristol and around the world will be celebrating Eid, an annual festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadhan..
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No answers to 9/11 riddle.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 08:00
ON 9/11, the world truly changed. It became divided: good guys on one side, bad guys on the other; everything became black and white.
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The Ugly Side of the Bear
Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 08:00
As the eyes of the world were hypnotised by the dramatic opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the embers of another war were being kindled to flame in Europe.
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I'm Praying for justice at last
LAST week, I welcomed news of the arrest of one of the most wanted men in the world – Radovan Karadzic. He had been on the run for nearly 13 years. He has twice been indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
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Hot Topics at the elections
Tuesday, August 05, 2008, 08:00
YESTERDAY, a row broke out at a Sikh Temple in Bristol among rival factions during the elections for a new management committee.
The differences were so serious that six riot police vans were called to the scene in an effort to keep the peace between the two sides. Fishponds Road was closed for several hours.
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Whose Earth are we on?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 08:00
A BRIDGE can only unite if we are willing to cross it. On Sunday, Bishop Declan, Rabbi Levy and I led a group of people from the three Abrahamic Faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and together we walked across one of this country's most iconic bridges – the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
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Giving them ammunition
Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 09:01
LAST week was the anniversary of 7/7. I've spoken many times about how clearly Islam condemns those who target innocent civilians.
But there seems to have been a purpose behind those terror attacks, and it wasn't just to murder and maim or cause panic and fear.
The terrorists wanted to divide our nation. They wanted ordinary British people to turn against British Muslims. They succeeded in the first aim – and, I think, are succeeding in the second.
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Saddened by lack of faith
Monday, July 14, 2008, 17:31
I WAS invited to talk about my faith at a secondary school in Taunton last week.
I began by asking the 180 children in their early teens how many of them actually believed in the existence of God, a spirit, a creator, a force – anything.Not a single one raised their hand. For these teenagers, life was here and now.
A few years ago, this answer used to shock me. Today, it's often the answer I hear. And it truly saddens me.
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