Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Detaining Muslims in airports is a 'manifestation of structural Islamophobia'

A HUMAN rights group has written to MPs on the all-party group on British Muslims raising concerns about law enforcement using counter-terrorism powers to detain Muslims at airports for up to six hours.

In the letter, Adnan Siddiqui, director of London-based advocacy group Cage, said that tens of thousands of people were being subject to “suspicionless stops” and that “the practice is a manifestation of structural Islamophobia, which is experienced as harassment”.


Cage has also filed a compliant with the policing regulator, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, on behalf of 10 people, reported The Guardian.

The human rights group has compiled a dossier summarising its complaints about Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows people to be detained at borders for up to six hours if they are suspected of being engaged in terrorist activities.

Muslim women are being forced to remove their headscarves, and a women returning from Mecca was held at an airport for five years, despite having felt unwell on the plane. She was reportedly questioned about the 2017 Westminster terror attack and wars in Syria and Yemen.

“I said I didn’t agree with killing innocent people,” she recalled, before being released, having been told “you have complied with the laws”.

Earlier this year, Ahmed Ali, a Muslim charity worker, said he has been pulled over by airport police 50 times.

"It was an absolute nightmare," he told Metro. "It’s getting really annoying. It’s just broken. They [police] are a law of their own."

Ali works in Derby for the international aid charity Unite4Humanity, and he regularly flies to different countries around the world because of his job. Ali claims his experience makes travelling "upsetting" for him and his family.

He said: "They always ask me the same questions like 'What do you think of what’s happening in Syria?' and 'What are your thoughts of what’s happening in Yemen?'.

"They wanted me to go into a room but I just refuse to do it now. I want them to arrest me and ask me why they have stopped me 50 times.

"It’s ridiculous. I am a Muslim but I don’t go to any of the hotspots like Syria. I just feel vilified because I’m a Muslim and I have a beard."

Muhammad Rabbani, Cage’s international director, said: “The discrimination faced by Muslim travellers highlights how embedded Islamophobia is in schedule 7, and in broader counter-terrorism powers. Officers routinely ask intrusive questions about religion and practice, which amounts to a modern-day inquisition.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The use of Schedule 7 is vital to the police in their work to combat terrorism and the authors of this report are clearly misrepresenting facts to fit their own predetermined conclusions.”

More For You

Norman Tebbit
Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

What was the Tebbit Test and why was it controversial?

LORD NORMAN TEBBIT, the former cabinet minister who introduced the controversial “cricket test” to question the loyalty of migrants, has died at the age of 94. The test, later known as the “Tebbit Test,” suggested that immigrants who supported cricket teams from their countries of origin instead of England were not fully integrated into British society. His death was confirmed on Monday by his son, William, who asked for privacy for the family.

Tebbit first spoke about the test in 1990 as a Conservative MP. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, “A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? It’s an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?”

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Air India crash probe finds fuel to engines was cut off before impact

Highlights

 
     
  • Fuel to both engines of the Air India flight was cut off seconds before the crash
  •  
  • A pilot was heard questioning the other over the cut-off; both denied initiating it.
  •  
  • The Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
  •  
  • Investigators are focusing on fuel switch movement; full analysis may take months.

FUEL control switches to both engines of the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position seconds before the crash, according to a preliminary investigation report released early Saturday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have consistently reported Chinese research vessel presence. (Representational image: Getty Images)

Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

A Chinese research vessel was detected operating in the Bay of Bengal near Indian waters while attempting to conceal its presence by disabling its Automatic Identification System (AIS), according to a report by The Economic Times, citing French maritime intelligence firm Unseenlabs.

The French company conducted a 16-day satellite-based survey tracking ships through radio frequency emissions. It monitored 1,897 vessels, with 9.6 per cent showing no AIS activity, indicating attempts to avoid detection. The survey raised concerns amid increased Chinese activity in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian-inspired garden earns
five awards at Hampton Court

(From left) Malcolm Anderson (RHS, head of sustainability) Clare Matterson (RHS director general), Lorraine Bishton (Subaru UK and Ireland, managing director) Andrew Ball (director, Big Fish Landscapes) Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Mathews with the medals

Asian-inspired garden earns five awards at Hampton Court

BRITISH Asians are being encouraged to take up gardening by a couple who have won a record five medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

“It’s a contemporary reimagining of a traditional walled garden, highlighting the British and Irish rainforests,” said Jewlsy Mathews, who was born in Britain of parents from Kerala, a southern Indian state known for its lush vegetation.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England

iStock

England faces widespread heat alerts and hosepipe bans amid rising temperatures

Highlights:

  • Amber heat health alerts in place for large parts of England
  • Hosepipe bans announced in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex
  • Temperatures could reach 33°C over the weekend
  • Health risks rise, especially for elderly and vulnerable groups

Heat warnings in effect as UK braces for another hot weekend

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England, with temperatures expected to climb to 33°C in some areas over the weekend. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) activated the warning at 12 pm on Friday, with it set to remain in place until 9 am on Monday.

The alerts cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, East of England, and London. Additional yellow alerts were issued for the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and the Humber, starting from midday Friday.

Keep ReadingShow less