March 1. A new Channel 4 documentary series called "
Extremely British Muslims" showed the inner workings of a sharia court inside Birmingham's Central Mosque. In the first episode, viewers
witnessed
the case of mother-of-four Fatima, 33, as she sought permission to
divorce her drug dealer husband she says has abused her throughout their
14-year marriage. According to sharia law, Muslim women must plead
their divorce cases in court, while Muslim men need only to say the
words "I divorce you" three times to obtain a divorce. Birmingham
Central Mosque said it allowed the sharia proceedings to be filmed in an
effort to "break down misconceptions about Islam." Some 100 sharia
courts in Britain are now dispensing Islamic justice outside the remit
of the British legal system.
March 2. English actor Riz Ahmed
warned
that the lack of Muslim faces on British television was alienating
young people, driving them towards extremism and into the arms of the
Islamic State. Delivering Channel 4's annual diversity lecture in
Parliament, Ahmed said that television had a pivotal role to play in
ensuring that Muslims felt heard, and valued, in British society:
"If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing
people to extremism. In the mind of the ISIS recruit, he's the next
James Bond right? Have you seen some of those ISIS propaganda videos,
they are cut like action movies. Where is the counter narrative? Where
are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories — that they
are valued? If we don't step up and tell a representative story we are
going to start losing British teenagers to the story that the next
chapter in their lives is written with ISIS in Syria."
March 3. The Amateur Swimming Association
changed
its swimsuit regulations to allow Muslim women to wear full body
outfits, after a request from the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation. The
rule was changed to encourage more Muslim women to take part in the
sport. Rimla Akhtar, from the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation, said:
"Participation in sport amongst Muslim women is
increasing at a rapid pace. It is imperative that governing bodies adapt
and tailor their offerings to suit the changing landscape of sport,
including those who access their sport."
March 4. Ryan Counsell, 28, a jihadist from Nottingham who left his
wife and two small children to fight with the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group
in the Philippines,
blamed
his behavior on the Brexit vote. He told the Woolwich Crown Court that
increased tension within the local Muslim community after Brexit sparked
his decision to leave. He said that he wanted to escape Britain's
political climate and seek an "idyllic life" under sharia law. He was
arrested at Stansted airport in July 2016 and was later sentenced to
eight years in prison.
March 5. Homegrown terrorism inspired by the Islamic State poses the
dominant threat to the national security of the United Kingdom,
according
to a comprehensive new report on violent Islamism in Britain. The
1,000-page report — "Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offenses and
Attacks in the UK (1998–2015)" — was
published by the Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy think tank based in London.
The report found that number of Islamism-related offenses (IROs) in
Britain doubled between 2011 and 2015 from 12 to 23 a year. More than
half (52%) of IROs were committed by individuals of South Asian
ancestry: British-Pakistanis (25%) and British-Bangladeshis (8%). Other
offenders had family ties to countries in Africa, the Middle East and
the Caribbean. Forty-seven percent of IROs were committed by individuals
born in the UK.
The also report showed a clear link between terrorism and growing up
in Muslim-dominated neighborhoods. London was the place of residence of
43% of IROs, followed by West Midlands, with 18%. Of the latter, 80% of
IROs were in Birmingham. The third most common region was North West
England, with 10% of IROs. Together, these three regions contained the
residences in almost three-quarters (72%) of cases. East London was home
to half (50%) the London-based offenders, while the three most common
boroughs — Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest — contained the
residence of offenders' in 38% of all London IROs (and 16% overall).
March 6. British security services have prevented 13 potential terror attacks since June 2013,
according
to Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the UK's most senior
counter-terrorism police officer. He also said that there were 500 live
counter-terror investigations at any given time, and that investigators
have been arresting terror suspects at a rate of close to one a day
since 2014. The official threat level for international terrorism in the
UK has stood at severe — meaning an attack is "highly likely" — for
more than two years.
March 7. The National Health Service (NHS)
revealed
that there were 2,332 new cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in
Britain between October and December 2016. That brought the total of new
cases in 2016 to nearly 5,500.
March 7. The managers of the cash-strapped Sandwell General Hospital near Birmingham are
considering
the construction of a special kitchen for preparing halal meals for
Muslim patients and staff. The move follows complaints about the quality
of halal meals that the hospital has outsourced to local vendors. A
spokesman said: "We are still reviewing options around creating a
separate halal kitchen and the best ways to provide a range of healthy
halal options to patients and staff who want them."
March 10. The BBC
announced
that it would begin outsourcing production of Songs of Praise, a Sunday
worship program that has been produced in-house for 55 years. Critics
of the move said they feared that Songs of Praise will lose its
Christian focus in favor of Islam. Anglican priest Lynda Rose said a
recent Songs of Praise episode featuring a segment about the Muslim
faith, including Church of England children visiting a mosque,
exemplified the "Islamization of the BBC." More than 6,000 people have
signed an online petition calling for MPs to investigate the BBC after
it appointed Fatima Salaria as the BBC's head of religious programming —
the second Muslim in a row to hold the post.
March 11. Britain's foreign aid budget is
reportedly
funding at least two dozen Palestinian schools, some of which are named
after terrorists and murderers and which openly promote terrorism and
encourage pupils to see child killers as role models. A
Mail on Sunday
investigation found pictures of "martyrs" posted on school walls,
revolutionary slogans and symbols painted on premises used by
youngsters, sports events named after teenage terrorists and children
encouraged to act out shooting Israeli soldiers in plays.
Head teachers openly admitted to flouting attempts by British and
European donors to control the curriculum at schools. They reportedly
print overtly political study aids for pupils, some even denying the
existence of Israel, while teachers boast of encouraging pupils to
emulate teenage "martyrs" killed in terrorist attacks in the region.
One senior teacher from a prominent West Bank school, when asked what
he would say to a pupil threatening to attack Israelis, said: "I would
tell them go in the name of Allah."
March 11. Islamic preachers may be asked to begin delivering their
sermons in English under measures being prepared to rid Britain of hate
preaching. The
Telegraph reported
that the government's counter-extremism taskforce is working on the
plans amid concern that preaching in foreign languages enforces
divisions between Islam and mainstream British society and can foster
radicalization.
March 12. An Islamic bookstore in Alum Rock, a predominately Muslim
suburb of Birmingham that has produced 10% of all of Britain's convicted
terrorists, was found to be
openly selling books promoting jihad. The
Sunday Express
visited the Madina Book Centre and bought a copy of the 440-page
"Bringing up Children in Islam" for £5 ($6). The book encourages parents
to "keep alive in the children the spirit of jihad." It says:
"They [your children] may be inspired to strive for the
restoration of the glory of Islam and Muslims. Jihad of warfare is where
all humans spend their energies to stop a tyrant from being oppressive,
for example when a tyrant makes it difficult for people to fulfill the
commands of Allah to propagate Islam.
"Tyrants must be subdued whether they rule in an Islamic or non-Islamic land, or whether they are on a battlefield.
"It is the duty of Muslims to divert people from worshipping created things to the worship of the Almighty Allah alone."
The book also rails against cinema and theater, arguing they are the
work of "evil-minded" Jews, and warns of a Jewish conspiracy to take
over the world. The book supports adulterers being stoned to death and
Muslim schoolchildren being kept separate from others: "Education under
unbelieving and atheist teachers results in them going astray.
Dangerous, communistic and materialistic ideas grow in their minds."
March 14. A father who describes himself as "Anglo-Saxon"
lost
a legal battle to prevent his Muslim ex-wife from sending their
10-year-old son to an Islamic secondary school. The man, who was not
named for legal reasons, said he wanted to prevent his son from
attending a "school inside a mosque" on the grounds that he would be
"marginalized" by his son if he enrolled at the London-based school. The
man's lawyer said that the mother and father had "different world
views" and that it was client's wish that his son be educated in a
"neutral" environment. The man and his ex-wife, both in their 40s, had
divorced more than three years ago following a nine-year marriage. The
man had converted to Islam but renounced his faith following the
separation. The lawyer argued that the boy's Muslim faith could be
adequately catered for at a secular school. A High Court judge dismissed
the man's appeal on the grounds that an earlier ruling made by a judge
at a family court — that the man would not be marginalized by his son —
was correct.
March 15. Lawyers
warned
that a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which
allows employers to ban staff from wearing Islamic headscarves at work
under certain conditions, will not automatically apply in Britain. The
ECJ ruled that prohibiting the visible wearing of any political,
philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct
discrimination. The judgment was delivered in cases brought by two
employees, one in Belgium and one in France, who were dismissed for
refusing to remove headscarves. Lawyers said that British companies
adopting the ban could easily be sued for discrimination. The Muslim
Council of Britain, the country's largest Islamic organization,
condemned the ruling:
"At a time when populism and bigotry are at an all-time
high, we fear that this ruling will serve as a green light to those
wishing to normalize discrimination against faith communities. Many will
be worried that this action will prevent Muslim women who choose to
wear the scarf from securing jobs. And it sends a message that we cannot
accept a plural society that recognizes and celebrates religious
differences."
Prime Minister Theresa May
said that the government should not tell women what to wear:
"We have a strong tradition in this country of freedom of
expression, and it is the right of all women to choose how they dress
and we don't intend to legislate on this issue. There will be times when
it is right for a veil to be asked to be removed, such as border
security or perhaps in courts, and individual institutions can make
their own policies, but it is not for government to tell women what they
can and can't wear."
March 17. The former owners of a bookstore in Bradford
apologized
after copies of the Koran and other Islamic literature were found in a
garbage dumpster outside the store. Police were called to the store
after a group of Muslim males began shouting at and abusing staff. The
imbroglio began after the bookstore's 80-year-old owner decided to close
down his business, and the new owners gave him a month to move out the
stock, which included a number of Korans and other Islamic books. A
spokesman for the bookstore said:
"It has come to our attention that some Islamic materials
were found in a skip [garbage dumpster] next to Book Centre. While the
Book Centre site is being cleared, no Islamic material of any sort was
purposefully disposed of. A small workforce was instructed to clear two
storerooms from which some material made its way into the skip. This is
wrong, unacceptable and a genuine mistake. The skip will be looked at as
a matter of urgency and any materials removed."
A spokesman for Baker Reign Solicitors, which represents the new owners, said:
"Should our client have been aware that the previous
owner would have sought to dispose of the Holy Koran and other books in
this manner, they would have assisted in distributing the books to
various mosques throughout the city.
"Our client now hopes that the previous owner takes a more
responsible course of action by distributing the books to those less
fortunate and in need of Islamic guidance."
March 17. Zameer Ghumra, a 37-year-old Leicester pharmacist accused of showing a beheading video to two young children, was
released
on bail until his trial begins at Nottingham Crown Court on September
25. He has been charged with distributing terrorist publications under
section two of the Terrorism Act 2006.
March 18. The BBC
apologized
after a tweet from the BBC Asian Network account asked, "What is the
right punishment for blasphemy?" The tweet provoked criticism that the
BBC appeared to be endorsing harsh restrictions on speech. In an apology
posted on Twitter, the network said it had intended to debate concerns
about blasphemy on social media in Pakistan. "We never intended to imply
that blasphemy should be punished," it said.
On March 18, the British taxpayer-funded BBC Asian Network account asked, "What is the right punishment for blasphemy?"
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March 19. A British jihadist
reportedly
used social welfare payments to move his family to Syria to join the
Islamic State. Shahan Choudhury, 30, who was radicalized at Belmarsh
Prison while serving an 18-month sentence for allegedly stabbing to
death a 17-year-old hospital worker over an alleged £15 ($18) drug debt,
vanished from his apartment in London and has since used social media
to urge other British Muslims to carry out terror attacks in the UK.
March 20. Mohammed Karamat, 45, an imam at a mosque in Coventry who
assaulted
four children as young as nine, was spared jail time. Magistrates
watched footage of Karamat twisting a child's arm, slapping a child, and
using a pen to stab a child and pricking a child's hand with the lid of
a pen. He was filmed attacking the children during a six-day period.
Karamat, who admitted to four counts of assault by beating, was ordered
to do 100 hours unpaid work.
March 21. Minister for Higher Education, Jo Johnson,
ordered
British universities to include a clear commitment to freedom of speech
in their governance documents to counter the culture of censorship and
so-called safe spaces. In a letter, Johnson wrote that it was the "legal
duty" of universities to ensure as far as practicable that freedom of
speech is secured for "members, students, employees and visiting
speakers." This meant that all university premises should not be "denied
to any individual or body on any grounds connected with their beliefs
or views, policy or objective."
March 22. Khalid Masood, 52, drove a car at pedestrians on London's
Westminster Bridge and, armed with two knives, stormed the parliamentary
estate. He killed five people and injured more than 50 before he was
shot dead by police. Masood, a convert to Islam, was born in Kent as
Adrian Elms. During his school years, he used his stepfather's surname,
Adrian Russell Ajao. A former English tutor, he was unemployed at the
time of the attack and had been living on social welfare benefits.
Masood, who had a history of criminality — he had previous convictions
for assaults, including grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive
weapons and public order offences — was
reportedly radicalized in prison.
March 23. A total of 29 people were
charged
after girls as young as 11 were raped and sexually abused in
Huddersfield. West Yorkshire Police said the 27 men and two women men
face numerous offences including rape, trafficking with intent to engage
in sexual exploitation, sexual activity with a child, child neglect,
child abduction, supply of Class A drugs and the possession and making
of indecent images of children. They are accused of committing the
crimes against 18 girls in Huddersfield when they were aged between 11
and 17, between 2004 and 2011.
March 23. The Islamic State
claimed
responsibility for the Westminster attack. "The perpetrator of the
attacks yesterday in front of the British parliament in London is an
Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to
calls to target citizens of the coalition," the group's Amaq news agency
said in a statement.
March 23. Prime Minister Theresa May
said
that it would be "wrong" to describe the jihadist attack on Westminster
Bridge and Parliament as "Islamic terrorism." Instead, she said, it
should be referred to as "Islamist terrorism" and "a perversion of a
great faith."
March 25. Mark Ashdown, a childhood friend of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood,
described how Masood had completely changed after prison, where he converted to Islam. Ashdown
said:
"When he first came out he told me he'd become a Muslim
in prison and I thought he was joking. Then I saw he was quieter and
much more serious. I gave him some cash-in-hand work for a few months as
a laborer. He said he needed time to pray and read the Koran —
something about finding inner peace. I heard he'd split from his partner
and got even more deeply into religion."
March 25. Police investigating the Westminster attack
concluded
that Khalid Masood acted entirely alone for reasons that may never be
known. "We must all accept that there is a possibility we will never
understand why he did this," deputy assistant Metropolitan police
commissioner Neil Basu said. "That understanding may have died with
him." Meanwhile, British security services
reportedly do not like the term "lone wolf" because they feel it glamorizes an attacker. They prefer using "lone actor" instead.
March 25. An estimated 400 home-grown jihadis have returned to the
United Kingdom after fighting in Syria, but only 54 of those have been
prosecuted,
according to a
Mail on Sunday investigation, which also discovered that some returned jihadis are roaming free on the streets of Britain.
March 28. Kevin Lane, a convicted murderer who spent 20 years in British prisons, including HMP Woodhill and HMP Frankland,
told
the BBC that he saw many inmates pressured to convert to Islam and
carry out attacks on other prisoners. "I have seen many attacks within
the prison system," he said. "One man boiled fat and poured it over
someone's head because of an insult to Islam." A spokesman for the
Ministry of Justice said: "The allegations put forward by the former
prisoner are historic."
March 29. The BBC tried to downplay Westminster attacker Khalid Masood's ties to radical Islam by airing an
interview
with a former employer of Massood. The man, identified only as Farasat,
was a manager at an English language school where Massood worked
between 2010 and 2012: The interview follows:
Q: Who was the man that you knew?
A: As a teacher, a very professional man. He was an excellent
teacher. He got on well with his non-Muslim colleagues. A very friendly,
stable kind of guy, really. He was not interested in the politicized
version of Islam. He had no contact with any of the extremist groups. He
was more a practicing Muslim who was committed to his faith, committed
to his family and was focused on his career. I don't think he was
influenced by extremist groups at all.... In fact, I'd go as far to say
that he was the antithesis of a violent radical.
Masood was, in fact, known to police and security services and had
once been investigated by MI5 over concerns about violent extremism.
March 30. Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Craig Mackey said
there was a slight increase in "Islamophobic incidents" following the
Westminster terror attack. Breitbart London
reported:
"The statement which New Scotland Yard sent along with its figures
suggests the rise may not be due to a genuine increase in Islamophobia,
but could instead be due to a 'community engagement plan' which sees the
authorities actively encourage Muslims to come forward with allegations
following what they describe as 'trigger events.'" The Met, the police
service for the Greater London area, now employs 900 specialists focused
on monitoring so-called Islamophobia.
March 31. A new biography of Prince Charles
revealed
that the heir to the British throne tried to halt the U.S. invasion of
Afghanistan to "honor" Ramadan. He made the plea in an "urgent call" to
William Farish, the American ambassador to London, four weeks into the
huge military operation launched after the 9/11 terror attacks. Farish
recalled: "Prince Charles asked me if it would be possible to stop the
invasion to honor Ramadan, and if I could convey that request to
President Bush." The ambassador replied that it would be difficult to
halt a military invasion already in full swing, but the prince allegedly
protested: "But Americans can do anything!" Farish asked: "Sir, are you
really serious?" Prince Charles replied: "Yes I am."
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
