Hate crime: just 22 mosques receive funding for security

Distrust of Prevent scheme among reasons cited for lack of uptake of government funding

Widespread distrust of the Home Office’s counter-extremism strategy by British Muslims has been cited as one of the obstacles to mosques using a government scheme to protect places of worship from hate crime, after figures showed just 22 received funding last year.

The £375,413 awarded to the mosques under the scheme is a tiny fraction of the £14m provided by a separate government fund for assisting the Jewish community. Applications by 24 mosques failed.

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Ask Forgiveness from Your Lord for Your Sins Before the Time is Up

Prophet Adam disregarded one of Allah’s commands and as a punishment, he was expelled from Jannah (Paradise). Later, he asked for Allah’s forgiveness and was forgiven. How many sins do we commit day and night violating all types of Allah’s commands? Do we repent for all those violations and sins? Why do we then get […]

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France city shuts down public pools after two women wear burkinis

Grenoble authorities said shutdown was requested by lifeguards at the pool

Despite the unprecedented heatwave sweeping across western Europe, lifeguards in Grenoble have shut down the city’s two municipal swimming pools, after Muslim women went swimming in burkinis.

The women went to the pools twice, at the initiative of the Alliance Citoyenne rights group, challenging a city ban on the full-body swimwear.

Related: Why we wear the burkini: five women on dressing modestly at the beach

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An Islamophobic security agenda shouldn't mix with arts funding | Naz Shah

Bradford literature festival speakers are right to withdraw in protest at Home Office funds. Muslims want meaningful engagement

• Naz Shah is the MP for Bradford West
  

The last few days have seen a furore over the Bradford literature festival’s decision to accept funding from the Home Office. Some 12 speakers have pulled out of the event so far, in protest at the source of the money, the government’s “Building a Stronger Britain Together” fund, a scheme that supports projects that supposedly counter extremism. As a result of the row, reputational damage has been done to this award-winning festival.

Let’s be clear why this has happened: the government refuses to engage with Muslim communities in a meaningful way – unless it is under the auspices of counter- extremism or counter-terrorism. Why does funding offered to Muslim communities so often appear under this guise? We’ve also seen this in the form of the goverment’s terrible Prevent counter terror strategy, which is a toxic presence and is already under review.

Had this government cared, it would not continuously brush Tory Islamophobia under the carpet

Related: Does Bradford festival's counter-extremism funding warrant a boycott? | Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and Saima Mir

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2LkJ7zh