Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Scottish MP Anum Qaisar 'routinely faces Islamophobia online'

Scottish MP Anum Qaisar 'routinely faces Islamophobia online'

SCOTTISH MP Anum Qaisar said she routinely faced Islamophobia on social media and called for actions to tackle religious intolerance across the UK.

On the 40th anniversary of the UN declaration on the elimination of religious intolerance, the British Pakistani politician spoke about her experiences of racism as a child and how she was facing online abuse now.


“The reality is that whilst I have been speaking in this debate - and I have actually posted social media stuff today about Islamophobia and I have already had abuse - after this I will go online to check my social media, to check my emails, to see if anything merits police awareness,” the Scottish National Party MP for Airdrie and Shotts said.

She referred to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s recent survey which found more than three-fourths of Muslims endured some sort of abuse in the past year.

Qaisar who was elected to parliament in a by-election earlier this year, narrated how she faced racism and Islamophobia as a schoolgirl after the September 11 terror attacks in the US.

“I know what it feels like. I was nine years old when I was asked if my dad was a terrorist the day after the 9/11 attacks. Only a couple of months after that, our mosque was burnt to the ground in a suspected Islamophobic attack. Those are my lived experiences and I know how it feels”, she said.

Qaisar, 29, accused prime minister Boris Johnson of “peddling rhetorics” about Muslim women.

“To be perfectly frank, I am not going to accept a debate where we are told that we have to take the politics out of it. Because the prime minister does peddle rhetoric where he says dangerous things like veiled Muslim women look like letter boxes”, she said.

“More needs to be done across all four nations to tackle this (Islamophobia). The UK government needs to do more,” she said.

More For You

New body led by Sir Sajid Javid aims to amplify ‘unheard’ voices
Sajid Javid

New body led by Sir Sajid Javid aims to amplify ‘unheard’ voices

A NEW independent commission to improve cohesion would engage across all nations and regions of the UK by moving beyond Westminster-centric discussions and include more diverse voices, the director of British Future thinktank has said.

Sunder Katwala said building confidence across different groups will be a priority, as economic pressures and tensions due to Middle East conflict have polarised communities in the UK.

Keep ReadingShow less
Yarl’s-Wood-detention-centre-Getty

In 2018, she was detained at Yarl’s Wood detention centre after being told she would be deported. (Photo: Getty Images)

Court awards £100,000 to Pakistani asylum seeker over unlawful detention

A PAKISTANI asylum seeker has been awarded nearly £100,000 after a UK court ruled that she was unlawfully detained and subjected to breaches of her rights by the Home Office.

Nadra Almas, who arrived in the UK on a student visa in 2004, overstayed after her visa expired. She argued that returning to Pakistan would put her at risk as a Christian.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

Pakistani zookeeper Mohammad Amir holds the confiscated lion cub at Lahore’s safari zoo last Tuesday (28)

Pakistan court gives unusual punishment to Youtuber Rajab Butt for owning lion cub

A PAKISTANI YouTube star who was gifted a lion cub on his wedding day avoided jail after promising a judge to upload animal rights videos for a year.

Rajab Butt has one of the largest online followings in south Asia, and his week-long nuptials in December were plastered over celebrity gossip websites.

Keep ReadingShow less
Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

The Labour government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures to tackle shoplifting and anti-social behaviour

iStock

Theft and violence in retail shops hit record high in 2024

THEFT and violence against retail workers in Britain soared to record levels last year, driven partly by criminal gangs, and are “out of control”, according to a report last Thursday (30).

The British Retail Consortium's annual crime survey found that more than 20 million thefts occurred in the year to August 31, 2024 – an average of 55,000 a day – costing retailers £2.2 billion.

Keep ReadingShow less
33 Gujaratis deported from US land in Ahmedabad

Indian immigrants who allegedly illegally migrated to the US arrive at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, in Ahmedabad. (ANI Photo)

33 Gujaratis deported from US land in Ahmedabad

A PLANE carrying 33 people from Gujarat, who were among 104 Indians deported from the US for illegal immigration, landed at Ahmedabad airport from Amritsar on Thursday (6) morning, officials said.

Soon after their arrival, the 33 immigrants, including some children and women, were transported to their native places in Gujarat in police vehicles, assistant commissioner of police, 'G' division, R D Oza said.

Keep ReadingShow less