Islamic Positive Thread

[Rico1304]

Someone making an uncontroversial argument for faith schools. So what?

Ha. Ok.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

I genuinely don't see why you're flagging it up. If there's a point to be made, make it.

[Rico1304]

I genuinely don't see why you're flagging it up. If there's a point to be made, make it.

You don't think that separating communities like this is exactly the problem we need to overcome?

 

The line 'there is no place for a non-Muslim pupil or teacher in a Muslim school' scares me because it can be equally applied by the other faith schools and we are back to square one.

[Section_31]

You don't think that separating communities like this is exactly the problem we need to overcome?

 

The line 'there is no place for a non-Muslim pupil or teacher in a Muslim school' scares me because it can be equally applied by the other faith schools and we are back to square one.

Don't tell me you think all schools should be run the same? Sounds a bit socialist that. Tory free schools are where the party's at, a portacabin run by someone's mum and PE lessons from Mike from Spaced.

[Rico1304]

Don't tell me you think all schools should be run the same? Sounds a bit socialist that. Tory free schools are where the party's at, a portacabin run by someone's mum and PE lessons from Mike from Spaced.

I've said before I'd take education out of party politics, it's too important for politicians to fuck up every 5 yrs.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

I've said before I'd take education out of party politics, it's too important for politicians to fuck up every 5 yrs.

Or maybe we need a more engaged and inclusive political process - one which is up to the task of deciding on the important stuff.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

You don't think that separating communities like this is exactly the problem we need to overcome?

 

The line 'there is no place for a non-Muslim pupil or teacher in a Muslim school' scares me because it can be equally applied by the other faith schools and we are back to square one.

I'm not agreeing with him, I just think his comments - supporting Muslim schools, in an article about the results that they get - are unremarkable.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Same for all faith schools. This is because they are, by definition, selective.

Not by definition. Maybe the way the current educational system works promotes selection (I genuinely don't know about this) but I went to a Catholic comprehensive, so such a thing is at least possible.

[Rico1304]

Or maybe we need a more engaged and inclusive political process - one which is up to the task of deciding on the important stuff.

Sigh, good luck with that.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Sigh, good luck with that.

A man can dream, can't he.

[Stu Monty]

Children need to be told that homosexuality is a sin...before they grow the faculties to make good judgements for themselves.

 

Fuck off.

[skend04]

Children need to be told that homosexuality is a sin...before they grow the faculties to make good judgements for themselves.

 

Fuck off.

To be fair there are enough people out there, of no religious denomination, that are uncomfortable about homosexuality or out and out homophobic. It's not just a religious thing.

[Rico1304]

To be fair there are enough people out there, of no religious denomination, that are uncomfortable about homosexuality or out and out homophobic. It's not just a religious thing.

No arguing with that. However due to people being educated that number is reducing all the time, this is returning to the dark ages.

[Stu Monty]

To be fair there are enough people out there, of no religious denomination, that are uncomfortable about homosexuality or out and out homophobic. It's not just a religious thing.

 

No it isn't just a religious thing. 

 

But given that two of the absolutely huge demographic indicators to homophobia will be religious belief and education maybe this is exactly the place to be pointing out why this is a major issue with faith schools?

[VladimirIlyich]

Yer bunch of poofters!

[Rico1304]

Yer bunch of poofters!

You are only gay if you push back.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Not really an "Islamic positive" story, but that's no longer an entry requirement for this thread.  This one should probably be filed under "don't follow heroes; they always let you down".

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/aung-san-suu-kyi-no-one-told-me-i-was-going-be-interviewed-by-muslim-1551637

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi left even her most ardent supporters shocked when she lost her composure after being challenged by BBC presenter Mishal Husain on the massacres of Muslims in Myanmar.

 

The Burmese politician was left ruffled as she was repeatedly asked by Husain to condemn anti-Islamic sentiment during an interview on the Today programme. "I think there are many, many Buddhists who have also left the country for various reasons," she replied after being pressed for an answer. "This is a result of our sufferings under a dictatorial regime."

 

She was later heard complaining off-air: "No one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim."

 

The 70-year-old president of Myanmar's National League for Democracy Suu Kyi remained under house arrest for 15 years in her native Burma and is globally revered for her peaceful struggle for democracy. However her ambivalence to the violence suffered by Burma's Muslim minority has alarmed even her most dedicated fans.

 

Muslims comprise only 4 per cent of Burma's population and face widespread opposition from the country's Buddhist majority. Suu Kyi apparently did not want to alienate her supporters, but her response has raised questions about her lack of sympathy for the plight of the Muslim community.

 

The clash was revealed in a new biography called "The Lady and the Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Freedom", written by journalist Peter Popham.

 

"I thought it was worth including in the book because it just feeds into the ambiguity of her position regarding this issue," Popham said. "One has great admiration for her and her life story and courage, but nobody believes anymore that she is a person without any faults and without her own prejudices and limitations."

 

Husain, 43, was the first Muslim presenter of Radio 4's Today programme.

[cloggypop]

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/syrians-rescue-german-far-right-stefan-jagsch-from-car-crash-wreckage

[cloggypop]

http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/refugees-are-volunteering-as-firefighters-in-australia--ZJZJlgnMXxZ

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Interesting read, this.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/why-the-british-media-is-responsible-for-the-rise-in-islamophobia-in-britain-a6967546.html

 

Once again, a newspaper’s integrity has been found wanting as the press regulator, IPSO, judged the Daily Star Sunday’s headline, “UK mosques fundraising for terror”, to be “significantly misleading” following a complaint lodged by myself. The paper clarified its error on page 2, noting that UK mosques were actually “not involved in any way”. This came just a week after The Sun wasforced to acknowledge that its headline “1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis” was similarly misleading.

 

Such inaccuracies are not restricted to the tabloid press. The Times, for example, claimed Muslims were “silent on terror”. This allegation has since been unequivocally rebuffed not only by Home Secretary Theresa May but also by senior counter-terror officers such as Neil Basu and Scotland Yard’s former anti-terror chief Richard Walton.

 

It’s not just misleading stories which are the problem - we also consistently see articles conflating the faith of Islam with criminality, such as the headlines “Muslim sex grooming” or“Imam beaten to death in sex grooming town” - the latter of which resulted in the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police being “appalled” and writing an open letter criticising the paper.

 

Sensationalism and scaremongering about the apparent threat posed by Muslims is also widespread. Just look at headlines such as: “BBC puts Muslims before you” (Daily Star); “Halal secret of Pizza Express” (The Sun); “Muslim vote could decide 25 per cent of seats” (Daily Mail).

 

So what, you might say? We rightly live in a country that cherishes the freedom of the press, and it’s not unreasonable for newspapers to use sensational headlines to sell papers. We know that there is an undeniable and serious threat from many groups identifying as Muslim that strike terror into the hearts of millions. But the inaccurate stories, as well as those that are re-framed to align with the far-right “othering” of Muslims, have real-world consequences.

 

Recent research by the University of Cambridge has shown that mainstream media reporting about Muslim communities is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility toward Muslims in Britain, corroborating the findings of an Islamophobia Roundtable in Stockholm two years ago. Claiming that the media has played no role in the growth in Islamophobia is no longer a tenable position.

 

More than half of Britons see Islam (the mainstream religion, not Islamist fundamentalist groups) as a threat to Western liberal democracy. Over 30 per cent of young children believe Muslims are ‘taking over England’ and hate crime against Muslims continues to rise, up by 70 per cent in the last year, according to the Metropolitan police.

 

Of course, the government needs to take the problem of Islamophobia seriously and we all need to hold the media to account better, reporting mistakes and inaccuracies. However, editors of newspapers also need to own up to this problem within the media and take meaningful steps to resolve it.

 

According to research presented at the Muslim News’ Conference on reporting Islam last year, there have been improvements in the language that is being used, but religious illiteracy remains rife within parts of our newspaper elite. Special training for journalists working in areas touching on Islamic faith and culture, and guidelines for sensitive topics, are now a must-have for any serious paper.

 

Research from City University in London shows a huge under-representation of Muslims in the media: less than 0.5 per cent of UK journalists are Muslim, compared to almost 5 per cent of the national population. This lack of diversity is likely to be further magnified at more senior positions. A more diverse workforce, however, is likely to improve coverage and reduce the likelihood of misreporting. I am aware of specific instances where the mere presence of Muslim journalists in editorial meetings made a real difference in ensuring more balanced reporting.

 

To improve diversity, there needs to be greater outreach on the part of media organisations to bring in talent from all backgrounds, through diversity programmes, paid internships and fast-track schemes to proactively close this gap.

Finally, given the apparent inability of the press to self-regulate, there needs to be more effective regulation. Stronger deterrents would prevent stories that are just plain wrong from making into print or online. Papers should not be able to get away with “clarifications” that do not admit wrongdoing without “due prominence”. A significantly misleading front page headline needs to be corrected by an equally sized front page apology as well as a financial penalty.

 

I expect that the independent review of IPSOcurrently underway would cover these ideas and hope that all those interested, feed into that review. And, among many potentialimprovements to the Editor’s Code of Practice, incorporating Recommendation 38 from Lord Leveson’s report is a key way to help tackle the abuse of minority groups by some sections of the media: “The power to intervene in cases of allegedly discriminatory reporting, and in so doing reflect the spirit of equalities legislation”.

 

Avoiding regular smears about Islam or Muslims and the conflation of the faith of Islam with criminality is a simple request of fairness, not asking for favours. It is not too much to ask of the nation’s editors.

[Stu Monty]

Not really an "Islamic positive" story, but that's no longer an entry requirement for this thread.  This one should probably be filed under "don't follow heroes; they always let you down".

 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/aung-san-suu-kyi-no-one-told-me-i-was-going-be-interviewed-by-muslim-1551637

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi left even her most ardent supporters shocked when she lost her composure after being challenged by BBC presenter Mishal Husain on the massacres of Muslims in Myanmar.

 

The Burmese politician was left ruffled as she was repeatedly asked by Husain to condemn anti-Islamic sentiment during an interview on the Today programme. "I think there are many, many Buddhists who have also left the country for various reasons," she replied after being pressed for an answer. "This is a result of our sufferings under a dictatorial regime."

 

She was later heard complaining off-air: "No one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim."

 

The 70-year-old president of Myanmar's National League for Democracy Suu Kyi remained under house arrest for 15 years in her native Burma and is globally revered for her peaceful struggle for democracy. However her ambivalence to the violence suffered by Burma's Muslim minority has alarmed even her most dedicated fans.

 

Muslims comprise only 4 per cent of Burma's population and face widespread opposition from the country's Buddhist majority. Suu Kyi apparently did not want to alienate her supporters, but her response has raised questions about her lack of sympathy for the plight of the Muslim community.

 

The clash was revealed in a new biography called "The Lady and the Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Freedom", written by journalist Peter Popham.

 

"I thought it was worth including in the book because it just feeds into the ambiguity of her position regarding this issue," Popham said. "One has great admiration for her and her life story and courage, but nobody believes anymore that she is a person without any faults and without her own prejudices and limitations."

 

Husain, 43, was the first Muslim presenter of Radio 4's Today programme.

 

There seems to be a theme I've seen a few times with Today ambushing people about what they are asking them on the show to talk about. Can't help but think that is going to get you more hostile and defensive stances from your guests and they are going to be "ruffled" and lose composure. They did it to Graham Linehan recently apparently.

 

 

Isn't this story just a plug for a book really? Given that the clash was surely "revealed" three years ago when she was being interviewed?

 

I'd venture that if she's in opposition she might think that not getting into power and changing things might be seen as letting people down.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

There seems to be a theme I've seen a few times with Today ambushing people about what they are asking them on the show to talk about. Can't help but think that is going to get you more hostile and defensive stances from your guests and they are going to be "ruffled" and lose composure. They did it to Graham Linehan recently apparently.

 

 

Isn't this story just a plug for a book really? Given that the clash was surely "revealed" three years ago when she was being interviewed?

 

I'd venture that if she's in opposition she might think that not getting into power and changing things might be seen as letting people down.

Was the off-air anti-Muslim comment revealed then, though?  

 

It just adds a bit more ammo against the people who spout the obvious nonsense about how "only Islam is a nasty religion; I mean, you don't get Buddhists acting cunty".

[stringvest]

Buddhists behave as cunty as any religion

[Captain]

Buddhists behave as cunty as any religion

 

You're losing it, old man.

[Strontium]

At least if a Buddhist murders someone, their reward is to be reincarnated as a cockroach rather than getting 72 virgins in paradise.