islamic human rights commission · that to repeat the government narrative is a grave mistake...

IISSLLAAMMIICC HHUUMMAANN RRIIGGHHTTSS CCOOMMMMIISSSSIIOONN2017 - 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

IHRC Annual Report 2016-2017 -

“And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way ofAllah and of the weak among the men and the women and thechildren, (and of) those who say: ‘O Lord! Cause us to go forth fromthis town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee aguardian and give us from Thee a helper’.”

Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75

The Islamic Human Rights Commission is an NGOwith Special Consultative Status at the Economic and

Social Council of the United Nations.

Chairman’s foreword

Campaigns

Events

IHRC at the United Nations

IHRC at the EU

Publications and Research

Gallery and Bookhop

Legal and Advocacy

Social Media and Video

IHRC in the Media

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Contents:


The last year has been anotherchallenging year for those of us whostand against all forms of injustice

and racism and want to work towardscreating a better and more just society forall. It is also almost a year since DarrenOsborne came to London filled with hatredand the intention to kill as many Muslimsas possible. He first targeted Al Quds Dayand when he failed he drove his killingmachine to Seven Sisters and attacked otherinnocent Muslims. We know now that thiskind of hatred does not happen in avacuum. This is a case of hatred beingpromoted through associating a peacefuldemonstration (Al Quds Day was identifiedas such by JUDGE ASK M.C who presidedover the Osborne trial) with terrorism aswas done by Zionists, Pro-Israelis andTommy Robinson. The judge specificallyhighlighted the way this fuelled andradicalised Darren Osborne.

This is exactly what the report'Environment of Hate: The New Normal forMuslims in the UK' showcases - thatpoliticians and the media have created andstrengthened this particular environmentwhich results in people behaving so badlyand so criminally. We have alwayshighlighted that to bring change we have todeal with institutional Islamophobia whichis unleashed and perpetuated bypoliticians, the media and those in power

Internationally, we can see glimmers ofhope of reduction in violence and movestowards a political solution in Syria and inmany ways the end of Daesh in Iraq.However, we have seen no glimmers ofhope in Yemen, Kashmir and Myanmar.

In the case of Palestine, the new USpresident outrageously tried to legitimiseillegal occupied land – citing Jerusalem asnot just part of the occupier but its capital.In some ways this has removed thehypocrisy from US policies. We all knowthe only way forward is the defeat ofZionism. In the case of South Africa,apartheid only came to an end throughresistance and the result was a one statesolution. It must be the same for Palestine.To that end, we would like to invite all ofyou to come to Al Quds Day on 10 June

Chairman’s foreword

Massoud Shadjareh speakingat a demonstration outside 10

Downing Street


2018 to stand for justice; to stand forPalestine and to stand for the integrity of AlQuds.

My dear friends, we in Britain, are facingunprecedented demonisation andIslamophobia - all part of government policyto undermine our confidence as equalcitizens. A process of social engineering is

taking place is taking place to undermineour beliefs and create a secular Islam. We areseeing who the government talks to when itwants to consult the so-called 'Muslimcommunity': people who include secularists,those who are anti-Islam; the likes of Ex-British Muslims, etc. We have to resist thisprocess and not allow the deen of Allah -which has come through the ProphetMuhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) - to be

negotiated away at any cost. This plan ofliberalising and modernising andwesternising Islam has been going on for along time. In this respect I remember aleaked government report around a decadeago which said they would bug certainMuslim schools in order to promotemoderate Islam. The task was entrusted tosecularists and ex-Muslims.

Asma Jahangir – UN Special Rapporteuron Freedom of Religion or Belief – said in herreport on the UK in 2008:

“The Special Rapporteur would like toemphasize that it is not the Government’s roleto look for the “true voices of Islam” or of anyother religion or belief. Since religions orcommunities of belief are not homogenousentities it seems advisable to acknowledge andtake into account the diversity of voices. TheSpecial Rapporteur reiterates that the contentsof a religion or belief should be defined by theworshippers themselves ...”

My dear friends and supporters, we haveto rise up against all of the challenges aboveand many others too. For that we need all ofyour support - especially financially. Withoutyour participation and financial support, wewould not be able to fulfil - and in the futureincrease - our current level of work. We canand must do it together. Let us unite forjustice under the banner of la ilaha illallah.

We must not allow the deen of Allah to be negotiated away at any cost

MassoudShadjarehspeaking at'The Future ofJerusalem'seminar


Nigeria

With the continuing unlawfuldetention of Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenah and

the persecution of the Islamic Movement ofNigeria which he heads, IHRC continuedapplying international pressure on theNigerian government to release the pair andbring justice to the victims. The sheikh andhis wife remain in custody without trial indefiance of a court ruling ordering theirrelease. Since the massacre Nigerianauthorities have waged a brutal campaign ofrepression against the IMN that has seenmore lives lost, the movement banned in thestate of Kaduna as an unlawful society andfollowers of the movement incarcerated.

The sheikh’s deteriorating health towardsthe end of 2017 prompted an upsurge incampaigning. Following the submission of acomplaint to the International CriminalCourt in 2016 regarding the 2015 Zaria mas-

sacre in which over a thousand innocent peo-ple lost their lives, the ICC produced a reportcontaining the findings of its preliminary ex-aminations. IHRC responded with a stronglyworded letter International Criminal Courtseeking clarification for comments thatseemed to apportion blame for the massacreon the victims.

In its Report on Preliminary ExaminationActivities 2017 the ICC states in reference tothe attack by armed forces on supporters ofthe Islamic Movement of Nigeria: “It is al-leged that members of the IMN armed withbatons, knives, and machetes stopped theconvoy of the Chief of Army Staff on a prin-cipal road in Zaria on 12 December 2015”.

IHRC took objection to this and remindedthe ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensoudathat to repeat the government narrative is agrave mistake especially when the report“fails to present the victims’ perspective, ig-nores all of the evidence except that pre-sented by the government and unfairlypresents the victims of the violence as the in-

Campaigns

Protestors in Nigeria face watercannons as they campaign forSheikh Zakzaky's freedom


stigators of the violence that took place overthose fateful three days.”

The ICC comments are worrying espe-cially in view of the fact that no evidencehas been presented, either by the army orpublic, in support of the government narra-tive. In fact, all the photographic and videoevidence of the attack shows soldiers walk-ing around IMN buildings at a leisurelypace without any fear for their safety asthey took up their positions before openingfire without any provocation on the un-armed IMN supporters. They attacked var-ious IMN sites over three days, and at nopoint was the army attacked.

However there is a large body of evi-dence ranging from eyewitness accounts tovictim statements and video evidence thatshows that IMN supporters were unarmedand did not engage in any violent activity.

“If the ICC is to be an effective and im-partial body that holds perpetrators of in-ternational crimes to account, it needs toavoid victim blaming,” said the letter.

We also wrote to the ICC separately

warning them of reports that Nigerian gov-ernment was planning to exhume the massgraves of those killed during the 2015 mas-sacre. There are a number of mass gravesaround Zaria, with up to 1000 victimsburied in them by the Nigerian army. IHRCviewed the exhumation as a move to delib-erately destroy evidence of the attack bydispersing the victims’ bodies to unknownlocations. We told the ICC that it is impera-tive that any exhumation does not go aheadunder the authority of the Nigerian govern-ment or army, as vital evidence will be re-moved or destroyed. The victims’ bodiesshould be exhumed under the supervisionof an international organisation, like theICC, so that evidence can be preserved andthe victims’ bodies returned to their fami-lies.

Over the course of the year we also lob-bied various Nigerian and international or-ganisations for the release of SheikhZakzaky, including the African Union, theUnited Nations, Nigerian president and theNigerian High Commissioner to the UK.

Numerous peaceful protests havebeen taking place to demand freedom

for Sheikh Zakzaky


Rohingya

The renewed pogroms and ethniccleansing of the Rohingya in Myanmarprompted us to organise a vigil outside

the country’s embassy in London on 10September 2017. Hundreds of civilians werekilled and tens of thousands forced to fleetheir homes in Rakhine State after thegovernment launched a “scorched earth”policy in areas inhabited by the group.Fleeing Rohingya recounted stories ofchildren being beheaded and women beingdragged away by soldiers to be raped. Whiletens of thousands of victims managed to fleeto neighbouring Bangladesh others had theirescape cut off by Dhaka which hashistorically sought to confine the Rohingyato Myanmar despite sharing a common faithand language with the persecuted group.

We urged people to donate funds forthose affected and to write protest letters tothe Bangladesh embassy in their countriescalling on the governments to immediately

admit the tens of thousands of people whowere massing on the border attempting toflee violence in Myanmar.

IHRC called on the United Nations to in-tervene as a matter of urgency to pressurisethe Myanmar regime into complying with itsinternational human rights obligations andending its persecution of the Rohingya.

We also reiterated our call for the UN tolaunch an immediate investigation into thelatest reports of atrocities against the Ro-hingya and immediately refer the matter tothe International Criminal Court.

Hundreds of civilianshave been killed andtens of thousandshave been forced toflee their homes

Rohingya refugees camped outin horrible conditions on Cox's

Bazar in Bangladesh


Refugees fleeing Myanmarhave little access to nutrition

and medical supplies

Many fleeing persecution inMyanmar have lost lovedones along the way


Palestine

Our efforts continued to keep the issueof Palestinian rights in the spotlightwhile international attention was

diverted to other conflicts in the region.With the situation worsening in the sum-

mer of 2017 and Palestinians feeling aban-doned IHRC organised a “Stand WithPalestine” demonstration in London on 22July.

On 2 November 2017, the centenary yearof the Balfour Declaration, the promisemade by Britain to Zionist leaders to help es-tablish a national homeland for the Jewishpeople, IHRC wrote to PM Theresa May. Ina letter endorsed by scores of prominent in-dividuals and groups the letter asked theBritish PM to The British Government toapologise to the Palestinian people for theircentury-long suffering and humiliation,which is still continuing, as a result of the is-suing of the Balfour Declaration and conse-quent actions. It also demanded that Britianpay full compensation for the direct andconsequential loses to the Palestinian peo-ple.

In response to reports that PM May wasto attend a joint British-Israeli dinner mark-ing the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Dec-laration, IHRC asked her to cancel herappearance. We also demanded that Britainimplement the recommendations of a reportby the UN Economic and Social Commisi-son for Western Asia to help end theApartheid regime in Israel.

Al-Quds Day

IIn the run-up to last year’s Al-Quds Daydemonstration, we were forced to write tothe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to

protest against efforts by extremist Zioniststo have the event called off. Al-Quds day isan annual global event to campaign for therights of Palestinians. In London it has runas a peaceful family friendly event for some30 years. The procession is always a diverseinclusive group, made up of Muslims, Jews,Christians, people of various faiths and none,from a wide range of ethnicities and walks oflife.

The letter-writing campaign by the ‘NorthLondon Friends of Israel’ and ‘We Believe inIsrael’ groups urged the mayor to cancel theevent on the alleged grounds that it was giv-ing voice to extremists. The letters particu-larly targeted the waving of Hezbollah flagsby participants.

IHRC’s letter to Khan co-signed by a di-verse range of pro-Palestine individual andgroups, the mayor of London Sadiq Khanwas reminded that Hizbullah’s politicalwing is not proscribed under British law, aninterpretation which has been repeatedlyconfirmed by the Crown Prosecution Serv-ice, and the Metropolitan Police. Further-more, said the letter, “removing, orrestricting the right to protest and challengeinjustice in the world is damaging to society,and in fact downright dangerous. There areclear, grave consequences of silencing thevoices of the oppressed and their advocates.”

The letter urged Mr. Khan “to ignore theslurs from the pro-Israel lobby and protectthe legitimate rights of demonstratorsagainst Israeli war crimes.”

IHRC was forced to write to the mayoragain several times in the following monthsafter it emerged that after the Al-Quds Daydemonstration he wrote to the Home Secre-tary Amber Rudd asking her to close a “loop-hole” that allows people to continue to showsupport for the political wing of the Lebaneseorganisation. In the letter Mr Khan appealedto the Home Secretary to proscribe the polit-ical arm of Hezbollah just as its military wingis proscribed under terrorism legislation.

The campaign against Mr. Khan’s stanceon the Al-Quds Day demonstration contin-ues with IHRC pressing him to ensure thatthe 2018 event is not marred by a racist andIslamophobic smear campaign and the in-citement of violence against its participants.

The procession isalways a diverse

inclusive group, madeup of Muslims, Jews,Christians, people ofvarious faiths and none


EDL and Zionistdemonstratorsprotesting the

Al Quds Day march

Supporters ofjustice for Palestinepeacefully marchedthrough the streetsof London on Al Quds Day


Continued campaigningon Saudi Arabia

To mark 800 days of Saudi’s siege onYemen, as part of a global campaignagainst 800 days of Saudi genocidal

bombing of Yemen, IHRC along withInminds successfully organised a guerillaprojection on the Saudi embassy in Londonon 11 June. A projection condemning SaudiArabian abuses was projected onto theembassy in the early hours of the day.

The campaign drew attention to theSaudi-led military coalition’s war crimes inYemen which have predominantly been di-rected at civilians in schools, mosques, hos-

pitals, and funeral gatherings. Thousands ofinnocent people have been killed. Yemen im-ports 90% of its food and a land/air/seasiege by Saudi Arabia has resulted in massstarvation with the UN reporting that threemillion (largely children) are suffering frommalnutrition.

In March 2017 we also co-organised aprotest in the capital against the kingdom’snew ruler, Prince Mohammad bin Salmanwho was visiting the UK. IHRC joined acoalition of organisations to protest againstthe visit. Apart from involvement in Yemen,the Saudi regime has also supported repres-sion in Bahrain, imposed a blockade onQatar, and briefly detained the LebanesePrime Minister.

IHRC took to parliamentin London to protestSaudi injustice


It was imperative to showcase the disgusting crimes of theSaudi regime and highlight the British government's hypocrsy

in its continued support of such heinous acts

Projections on the UK parliament were inprotest of the arrival of Saudi prince

Mohammad bin Salman


OFSTED

Following reports in the media that thehead of the official schools inspectoratein England had requested inspectors to

interrogate young Muslim girls wearing thehijab on the grounds that it “could beinterpreted as sexualisation” of girls asyoung as four or five, when most Islamicteaching requires headdress for girls only atthe onset of puberty,” IHRC wrote toAmanda Spielman reminding her of herBritain’s obligations under international lawto ensure freedom of thought, conscienceand religion.

The letter drew particular attention to thenovelty of this argument. Until recently Mus-lim women were berated for wearing thehijab as it erased and denied their sexualitywhile in public. For Spielman to invert thisargument and still manage to use it as an ef-fective tool to demonise Muslim womenmarks a new low. It seems now the Muslimwomen are oppressed by the hijab because itdenies the sexuality of grown women butthat they also we need protection from it as itoverly sexualises prepubescent girls.

The letter attacked OFSTED for denyingMuslim parents the right to raise their chil-dren their religious values and practices. Thesocialisation process in all communities in-volves the young learning the values andethics of their parents by copying them.Whether that is a young girl wearingmakeup, dressing up in her mother’s cloth-ing or wearing the hijab. A critical part of thissocialisation process is that parents should befree to teach their religious (or non-religious)values and practices without state interfer-ence.

California StateUniversity

Following the decision by CSU to tocancel the search for a candidate for theEdward Said Professorship, a move

which prompted the resignation of theDirector of the Middle East Studies Program,Vida Samiian on the grounds of racialdiscrimination and academic interference,IHRC wrote to the university protesting itsdecision.

We found the cancellation after stronglobbying from the American pro-Zionistlobby unacceptable. The lobby has made it astrategy in recent years to target academic in-stitutions in order to silence narratives thatdo not conform to their own agenda. Theiraim is to prevent a critical discussion of Is-raeli policies or Israel’s illegal occupation ofPalestine by harassing or intimidating uni-versity lecturers and administrators.

There is no doubt that the university hadcaved in to the lobbyists’ objections that theall four candidates are of Middle Eastern andPalestinian ethnicity.

The letter said this was a disturbing turnof events which has serious repercussions forthe University’s reputation as an institutionthat cherishes academic freedom and sup-posedly operates a non-discrimination pol-icy. We urged CSU to reverse its decision.

AmandaSpielman


Prophet Isa: A StorytellingPerformance for Children

IHRC hosted Khayaal Theatre Companyon 3 April 2017 for an inspiring storytellingperformance for children about the ProphetJesus by Khayaal Theatre Company.

This was a reverent and atmosphericallyrich performance of the story of the prophetknown as the Spirit of God, from his mirac-ulous birth to his glorious ascension.Khayaal’s Easter storytelling offering pre-sented an episodic account of the life ofProphet Isa (as) interspersed with his teach-ings from the Qur’an and the Bible based ontraditional Islamic and Christian sources.

Al-Quds Day demonstration

The annual al-Quds day demonstration insupport of Palestinians tookplace on Sunday18 June in London in the face of attempts by

pro-Zionist groups to disrupt it and evenhave it called off.

Between two to three thousand peoplefrom all over the UK turned out to com-memorate al-Quds Day, a day that has beenmarked globally since being inaugurated in1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini who asked forthe last Friday in the Islamic holy month ofRamadan to be set aside as a day for unitingagainst Israel and showing support for thedispossessed and oppressed Palestinians.

Film screening: GenerationRevolution and conversationwith Usayd Younis and CassieQuarless – 19 September

IHRC was proud to screen GenerationRevolution, the powerful story of a new gen-eration of black and brown activists who arechanging the social and political landscapein London and beyond. This feature-lengthdocumentary film follows an exciting new

Events

Al Quds Day marchers were treated to an arrayof speakers from a variety of backgrounds


Nargess Moballeghi in conversationwith 'Generation Revolution' creatorsCassie Quarless and Usayd Younis

The Al Quds Day march was also achance for protestors to show theirsupport for the victims of Grenfell


breed of organisations as well as the youngLondoners that are part of them.

The London Black Revolutionaries, or‘Black Revs’, have a predilection for dra-matic, raucous, direct action. R Movementchallenge the idea of the ‘Staid and Serious’political activist and The Black Dissidents area new organisation intent on furthering thefight against oppression along the lines ofrace, class and gender.

The film vividly chronicles the evolutionof characters as they experience personal andpolitical awakenings, breakthroughs and, attimes, disillusionment. Generation Revolu-tion offers a unique and original glimpse intothe rewarding but difficult path that must betrodden in the struggle for personal, socialand political liberation.

Islamophobia Awards 2017

IHRC successfully hosted the 2017 Islam-ophobia Awards on Sunday, 27 November.The event was also a chance to commemo-rate 20 years since Islamic Human RightsCommission was founded and fundraisemoney for IHRC Trust’s charitable works.Foremost, the event is a satirical awards cer-emony where we can poke fun at those who

have been Islamophobic and hateful towardsMuslims.

The ‘Islamophobe of the Year’ awardwent to Donald Trump, who had previouslywon it in 2016. Other ‘category’ winners in-cluded OFSTED, Fox News, Aung San SuuKyi.

It was a successful evening that allowedfor light hearted laughter and comedy – en-joyed by all. It is of course important to alsoremember the seriousness of the Islamopho-bia phenomenon and that we must alwaysbe working towards dismantling structuralinequalities. But even Muslims are alloweda night off for a bit of satirical fun!

Islamophobia Conference 2017– 10 December

On Sunday 10th of December, the 2017 Is-lamophobia conference began with a swarmof snowflakes, an exciting start to IHRC’sfourth annual conference entitled The Rise ofNativism. Co-organised with ScotlandAgainst Criminalising Communities, theLondon event was held at the wonderful P21Gallery whilst the Scottish conference washeld in Edinburgh on Friday 9th December.

Lauren Booth, Yasser Louati, Maz Saleem and Malia Bouattia pose at the 2017Islamophobia Awards. Maz Saleem was one of the recipients of a 'Positive Award'

on the night in recognition of her work in combatting Islamophobia


Arzu Merali, Luis Manuel Hernandez Aguilar, Amrit Wilson, Salman Sayyid,Hatem Bazian and Ramon Grosfoguel at the 2017 Islamophobia Conference

2017 IslamophobiaConference panelistsdiscuss 'The Rise of

Nativism'


In London first panel of speakers dis-cussed minority rights in the age of nativism.Arzu Merali, the Head of Research at IHRCand co-author of Environment of Hate: Thenew Normal for Muslims in the UK dis-cussed the rise of nativism in the nation state.Merali emphasised the inter-relatedness ofIslamophobia, anti-blackness and austeritysaying they should be campaigned againstall at once rather than internalising the issuesinside separate communities. Other speakersincluded Dr Luis Hernandez ManuelAguilar, a research officer for IHRC based inGermany, Martijn de Koning, a teacher at theRadboud University Nijmegen in theNetherlands, Professor Hatem Bazian, co-founder of Zaytuna College and lecturer atthe University of California, Ramon Gros-foguel, a professor at the University of Cali-fornia, Amrit Wilson, a writer and activistand member of South Asia Solidarity Groupand Professor Salman Sayyid from the Uni-versity of Leeds.

The focus of the conference in Edinburghwas education. It came on the heels of a re-cent survey by Samena Dean which foundthat more than half of Muslim school stu-dents interviewed in Edinburgh had experi-enced Islamophobia. Islamophobia isreflected in hate crime, unlawful discrimina-

tion, discriminatory and hostile social atti-tudes and institutional racism. Schools, col-leges and universities in Scotland are notimmune to this trend.The event consisted ofa workshop mainly for young Muslims, around-table discussion on how to move to-wards radically anti-racist education and apanel with speakers including Arzu Merali(co-founder and head of research, IHRC, andleading member of DIN), Tasneem Ali(MWAE), Richard Haley (SACC), SofiahMacLeod (Scottish Palestine Solidarity Cam-paign) and Yahya Barry. The panel waschaired by Zahid Ali.

Genocide Memorial Day 2018

On Sunday 21 January 2018, IslamicHuman Rights Commission held its 9th an-nual Genocide Memorial Day event. Thetheme of this year’s GMD was Failures of In-ternational Institutions in preventing geno-cide: Myanmar’s Rohingya and Bosniangenocides. The conference featured twopanel discussions, the first featuring DrMaung Zarni, a genocide scholar andBurmese human rights activist. He has writ-ten extensively on democratization, Islamo-phobia, and Rohingya genocide in his native

Nazim Ali, Ramon Grosfoguel and Narjis Khanspeak at Genocide Memorial Day 2018


country of Burma. He started his lecture talk-ing about how genocide and civilization area paradox. He pointed out how we have cre-ated these taxonomies of humans, culturesand societies and how white men have comeat the very top. In Maung’s words, this is theideological framework that has been usedand continues to be used to justify atrocitiesand crimes anywhere in the world.

Following Dr Zarni, Demir Mahmutceha-jic, a human rights activist and one of thefounder members of IHRC, spoke about hisown personal experience as a survivor of theBosnian genocide and why after the geno-cide in Bosnia was committed, perpetratorssystematically hid the remains of the dead.Further, he discussed the dehumanisation ofthe Bosnians as in doing so it became accept-able to kill, rape and assault them.

The second panel featured MichelWarschawski who spoke via Skype from theoccupied Palestine. Warschawski is an Israelianti-Zionist activist and co-founder of the Al-ternative Information Center (AIC). He dis-cussed the problem and limitations of “one

state” as a solution to the colonial conflict inPalestine and the future of Palestine in theTrump era.

The final speaker was Ramon Grosfoguel,a professor in the Department of EthnicStudies at the University of California atBerkeley. Grosfoguel examined how the na-tion state provides us with the question ofthe human versus non-human and high-lighted the idea of one nation with one iden-tity and one population simply does notexist. In his own words, “Nations states arefictions. They don’t exist”.

Conference: “The Future ofJerusalem” – 28 January(co-organised with AhlulbaytIslamic Mission)

This event which brought together a dis-tinguished panel of speakers in London ex-amined the following themes:

- The implications of 100 years of Balfour

Rajeesh Kumar speaks at 'The NewColonialism: The American Model of

Human Rights' conference


Declaration.- Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions - BDSmovement.- Narratives of Zionism: Demonization ofPalestine activism.- Challenges of a one state-solution.

Speakers included:• Ken Livingston - Former Mayor of Lon-don• Malia Bouattia - Former President of Na-tional Union of Students• Massoud Shadjareh - Chairman of IslamicHuman Rights Commission• Father Frank Gelli - Reverend of AnglicanChurch• Shaykh MS Bahmanpour - Islamic Centreof England• Rabbi Aaron Cohen - Neturei Karta• Nargess Moballeghi - Freelance Journalist• Roshan M Salih - Chief Editor of 5Pillars• Abir Safa - Spoken Word Artist• George Galloway - Politician and Activist• Les Levidow - Jews for Boycotting IsraeliGoods

Conference: The NewColonialism: The AmericanModel of Human Rights –10 February

Held at the prestigious Friends House inLondon this conference saw the gathering ofspeakers from all over the world to discussAmerican exceptionalism and human rightsfor the first time ever. The objective of TheNew Colonialism: The American Model ofHuman Rights was to unmask the more sys-temic problems that undergird US Excep-tionalism. In particular, the focus was on theAmericanisation of Human Rights, and thepraxis of human rights, arguing that theyhave become a tool of US led foreign policyrather than a transformative discourse thatseeks to liberate individuals, groups andlarge sections of society who are oppressedby unjust systems.

Saeid Reza Ameli speaks at 'The NewColonialism: The American Model of

Human Rights' conference


IHRC is recognised as an experienced andhighly respected human rightsorganisation. For many years now we

have enjoyed consultancy status at theUnited Nations, a platform that allowsgovernmental and other organisations allover the world to utilise the research andanalysis we produce.

IHRC continued its work in the UnitedNations with reports and oral statementshighlighting human rights abuses in variouscountries.

In relation to the Netherlands we con-demned the “Black Pete” celebrations andthe rise of Islamophobia in the country. Inour statement we backed a 2015 call by theUnited Nations committee on the Elimina-tion of Racial Discrimination urging TheNetherlands to get rid of Black Pete becauseit has racist elements. “Black Pete is some-times portrayed in a manner that reflectsnegative stereotypes of people of African de-scent and is experienced by many people ofAfrican descent as a vestige of slavery,” its

report stated.IHRC called on the Human Rights Coun-

cil of the UN to put pressure on the Nether-lands to implement the Committee on theElimination of Racial Discrimination recom-mendation immediately and to take meas-ures to stop xenophobic verbal, physicalattacks against Muslims and protectmosques.

In another oral statement IHRC drew at-tention to United Kingdom and NorthernIreland’s PREVENT Programme.

Prevent, an acronym for Preventing Vio-lent Extremism, is one of four pillars of thegovernment’s anti-terrorism strategy, CON-TEST, which emerged as a response to theJuly 2005 terrorist bombings in the capital. Itsstated aim is to stop people becoming terror-ists or supporting terrorism. However PRE-VENT has become an aggressive socialengineering and spying exercise to trans-form attitudes in the community and gatherintelligence on its members.

There is little doubt that Prevent is prov-ing to be counter-productive in the fight

IHRC at the United Nations

Barrister Festus Omwuma Okoye of Nigeria and Shaykh Azmi ofMalaysia both spoke at IHRC's side-panels at the United Nations


against terrorism. The authorities seem soconcerned with remoulding British Muslimsthat their energies and resources are taken uppursuing this latter day “mission civil-isatrice” rather than seeking out real terror-ists. Prevent has also alienated the Muslimcommunity instead of making it a partner inthe fight against terrorism; it has become abyword for indoctrination and intrusion. ThePrevent strategy is an attack on the rightsand liberties of Muslims and the wider pop-ulation and as such will never make Britainmore secure from the threat of terrorism. Ourrecommendation was that it be abolished.

Our oral statement on Bahrain drew at-tention to the mistreatment and torture of de-tainees, continuing stripping of citizenship,travel bans against civil society actors and re-strictions on freedom of expression, assem-bly and association.

Bahrain remained a member of the SaudiArabia-led coalition that has launched count-less air strikes in Yemen, causing thousandsof civilian deaths. We also convened two sidepanel meetings on the issue during the 36thSession of the Human Rights Council.

IHRC called on theHuman RightsCouncil of the UNto put pressure onthe Netherlandsto take measuresto stop xenophobic

verbal andphysical attacksagainst Muslimsand to protectmosques

This panel at the United Nationsfocused on the Zaria Massacrethat took place in Nigeria in 2015


Located in Brussels since 2016, the EUOffice coordinates IHRC advocacyactivities with the EU institutions

playing a leading role in in shaping policiesto fight Islamophobia, including theEuropean External Action Services,European Parliament, EU Delegations andthe EU Commission.

Despite EU and national legislation pro-viding legal remedies for racist crime anddiscrimination, evidence demonstrate thatMuslims still suffer from violence, prejudiceand exclusion. On the basis of existing EUand international human rights standards,evidence-based, proactive and specific poli-cies are still needed at national and Europeanlevel, to address Islamophobia, including itsstructural dimensions and impact on eco-nomic and social outcomes for Muslims.

The first official statement of the Vice-President of the European Commission

Frans Timmermans on Anti-Muslim hatredon 21st September 2017 represented an im-portant step towards more recognition at EUlevel.

IHRC plays a fundamental role in thisthird year of fighting against Islamophobiain Europe. Our objectives look increasinglychallenging and the IHRC-EU team works toinfluence all the key decision and policy-makers to ensure that EU policies have a farreaching, positive impact on the lives ofthose most affected. IHRC advocacy work inthe EU currently focuses on:

● Following policy developments on a num-ber of issues that relate to anti-Muslim ha-tred, anti-discrimination law,counter-terrorism law in numerous policyareas including employment, hate crime,hate speech, institutional islamophobia, is-lamophobia in the media.

IHRC at the EU

The IHRC-EU team worksto influence key decisions

and policies


● Liaising with the Members of the EuropeanParliament (especially UK MEPs), other EUInstitution officials, allied NGOs and civil so-ciety networks in Brussels and across Eu-rope.

● Presenting IHRC and its positions on anumber of policy areas to European stake-holders at an institutional and civil level.

● Writing position papers, briefing docu-ments, press releases, research, and newslet-ters

Our main stakeholders are: the EuropeanParliament’s Anti-Racism and Diversity In-tergroup (ARDI), UK MEPs, Member States,the EU High Level Group, the FRA-led Sub-group on improving methodologies forrecording and collecting data on hate crime,the European Commission coordinator oncombating anti-Muslim hatred.

Proactive andspecific policiesare still neededat national andEuropean levelto addressIslamophobia

Focus is placed on anti-Muslimhatred, anti-discrimination and

anti-counter terror laws


Throughout the course of the year IHRCwas engaged in a major researchproject fund by the European Union

looking at how Islamophobia can becombated with the use of counter-narratives.The research is more of less completed at thetime of writing.

The overall aim of the research was tocompare the operation of counter-narrativesto Muslim hatred in eight EU member statesin order to examine their use and effective-ness in terms of providing alternatives toprevailing narratives of hate and hostilityand reducing racism

This has involved assessing prevailingnarratives of Muslim hatred and the local,national and international environments inwhich they operate, identifying the content,utilisation and impact of counter-narrativesin each member state context and comparingtheir operation and outcomes in order toidentify best practice in the form of a Toolkitof Counter-Narratives.

IHRC empirical information about theoperation of counter-narratives in eightmember states (the UK, Belgium, Portugal,Hungary, the Czech Republic and Greece,plus France and Germany) providing thefirst comprehensive comparative picture ofthe use of counter-narratives and will for thefirst time compare these data to explore whatworks in the use of counter-narratives utilis-ing a range of indicators.

Along with several partners, IHRC wasgiven the task of researching the UK sectionof the project. Our report overviews narra-tives of Islamophobia in the United King-dom using the Domination Hate Model ofIntercultural Relations (DHMIR) (Ameli,2010) to map the overlapping and interlock-ing prevalence and impact of such narrativeson social and political discourse. This reportoverviews existing work in the field thatmeasures and narrates the impact of Islamo-phobia, a background to the Muslim com-munity/ies in the UK, the discussion arounddefinitions of Islamophobia, historical andcurrent events that impact the relationshipbetween the understanding of Muslims insociety and their experiences, before outlin-ing the key anti-Muslim narratives operatingin British political, media and other dis-courses.

PublicationsWe published/republished three titlesthroughout the course of the year.

On the Sociology of Islam - Dr. Ali ShariatiPublication date: 30 October 2017

Dr. Ali Shari’ati (1933-1977) was a teacher,scholar and writer, who had a dynamic in-fluence on the young people of Iran with hisclasses, discussions, free lectures and articlesduring the 1960s and 1970’s. Shari’ati was asociologist, educated in Mashhad and Paris,as well as a student of history and philoso-phy.

He subjected contemporary society tocareful examination, using the terms, experi-ences and concepts found in Islamic philos-ophy and culture for his analysis. Heformulated and presented to his studentsand readers a coherent Islamic world-viewand an ideology of social, political and eco-nomic change. His views contributed muchto the Iranian Islamic revolution. Shari’ati’sworks are constantly reprinted and eagerlystudied throughout Iran.

This anthology – translated by the es-teemed Professor Hamid Algar - presents his

Research and Publications

Our report overviewsnarratives of

Islamophobia in theUnited Kingdom usingthe Domination HateModel of InterculturalRelations to map theoverlapping andinterlocking

prevalence and impactof such narratives onsocial and politicaldiscourse.


major ideas. In it the reader is introduced toseveral of his favourite themes: the unity ofthe universe, the confusion of terms in Marx-ism and the man of faith as rebel.

“Shari’ati was an independent thinkerwho dared to raise his voice against obeyingthe despotic shah of his time. Shari’ati daredto think differently and strove hard to pro-vide an alternative islamic view on variousissues. In this collection of lectures, aptly ti-tled On the Sociology of Islam, Shari’atibrings his knowledge of history, faith, beliefand struggle to produce a narrative that canbe characterized as decolonial in today’sstandards”

Against Zionism: JewishPerspectives ConferenceProceedings (2nd ed) - Edited byArzu Merali and Javad Sharbaf

First published in 2008 / Second edition pub-lication date: 7 February 2018

The conference ‘Against Zionism: JewishPerspectives’ at the Brunei Gallery, School ofOriental and African Studies in 2008 markeda turning point in solidarity and activism forPalestine in civil society. Following on oneyear after the multi-faith conference ‘To-wards A New Liberation Theology: Reflec-tions on Palestine’ this event marked thecontinued and deep collaboration betweendiverse Jewish and Muslim voices.

The papers in this collection come frombrave intellectuals, academics, activists, andRabbis. All of them continue to challenge the

injustices and outright oppression caused byracist, supremacist discourses. Their work re-mains pertinent at a time when advocacy forjustice, especially in support of the Palestin-ian people, their rights and their aspirations,is being demonised.

American Exceptionalism,Eurocentrism and Otherisationof Muslims - Saied Reza AmeliPublication date: 2 October 2017

‘American Exceptionalism, Eurocentrismand Otherization of Muslims’ is an impor-tant contribution to understand the rise ofglobal islamophobia and the difficult mo-ment humanity faces today. Dr. Ameli bringsus a profound analysis on the roots of theproblem.

He takes a long durée perspective to de-construct major myths of Western modernityby going back to the history of Al-Andalusand the Crusades, to the conquest of theAmericas in 1492, the invention of the mythof European origin in Greek civilization inthe 18th century, the eurocentric structures ofknowledge of the modern world, all the wayto the orientalist narratives of the recent “waron terror”. But this book is not just about thedeconstruction of Western Modernity myths.Dr. Ameli provides a fascinating reconstruc-tion from Islamic sources of concepts of Jus-tice and Ethics as well as Islam’scomprehensive contributions to different as-pects of human life as solutions to the differ-ent problems humanity faces today.


Our gallery and bookshop continuedto act as a hub for storytelling andexhibitions throughout the year.

Author Evening: ‘Shy Radicals’ with Hamja Ahsan 24 July 2017

Hamja Ahsan is a campaigner for prison-ers, human rights and civil liberties underthe War on Terror, and was shortlisted for theLiberty Human Rights awards for the FreeTalha Ahsan campaign. Shy Radicals is asatire that uses anti-colonial theory to build acritique of dominant culture and the risingtide of Islamophobia.

Radicalised against the imperial domina-tion of globalised PR projectionism, extrovertpoise and loudness, the Shy Radicals andtheir guerrilla wing the Shy Undergroundare a vanguard movement intent on trans-rupting consensus extrovert-supremacistpolitics and assertiveness culture of the

twenty first century. The movement aims toestablish an independent homeland – As-pergistan, a utopian state for introverted peo-ple, run according to Shyria Law andunderpinned by Pan-Shyist ideology, pro-tecting the rights of the oppressed quiet andshy people.

Author Evening: ‘Balfour’s Shadow’ with David Cronin 27 July 2017

In November 1917, Britain caused one ofthe great fault lines in the Middle East. A dec-laration signed by Arthur James Balfour, thenforeign secretary, favoured the establishmentof a ‘Jewish national home’ in Palestine, apredominantly Arab land.

David Cronin presented his new book,Balfour’s Shadow, which provides a trench-ant critique of Britain’s 100-year-old supportfor the Zionist colonisation project. Un-earthing facts neglected by many historians.In a well-attended event Cronin discussed

Gallery and Bookshop


his book which document Britain’s fre-quently brutal conduct when it ruled Pales-tine between the two world wars. Suchbrutality facilitated the dispossession ofPalestinians and spawned injustices thathave been allowed to fester. Britain’s rela-tionship with the Zionist movement hasproven resilient, despite periods of hostility.

Children’s Workshop: Islamic Signs in British SignLanguage with Amin & Yasmin 24 August 2017

IHRC was proud to host this exciting andinnovative workshop empowering deaf chil-dren & adults and other visual/kinestheticlearners.

Helpingchildren

learn IslamicSigns in

British SignLanguage

Moriam Grillo inconversation with HamjaAhsan and Nina Power


Arzu Merali inconversation withDavid Cronin


Author Evening:‘Confessions of a MuslimJournalist’ with Roshan M Salih 30 October 2017

All prominent media is propaganda andthe only difference between them is the so-phistication of that propaganda. And RoshanMuhammed Salih should know, havingworked for British mainstream media as wellas Saudi, Qatari and Iranian funded mediafor the last 18 years. During that time Roshanhas covered the Muslim “news beat” in theUK and abroad more comprehensively thanany other journalist, and he now runsBritain’s number one independent Muslimnews website, 5Pillars.

Having had a front seat on much of recentMuslim history, from the rise in Islamopho-bia and state oppression at home to wars,revolutions and natural disasters abroad,Roshan discussed his book which focusesspecifically on the evolution of Islam inBritain from the 1990s onwards as well ashow the mainstream media has lamentably

Arzu Merali inconversation withRoshan M Salih


failed to report on it fairly. By telling his per-sonal career story he takes aim at the Britishstate and media for scapegoating and oth-erising Muslims in the War on Terror years.But he also reflects on the divisions and in-adequacies within the Muslim community it-self. This was a lively author evening whichbenefited from an equally passionate audi-ence.

A Journey of Love: An Intifada Street Exhibition September 2017 – February 2018

Featuring artist Mohammad Hamza, theIntifada Street Exhibition illuminated themessage and journey of Imam Hussain (AS)to Karbala in 680. Exploring many themessuch as the Imam’s stance against oppres-sion, injustice and tyranny and how theImam’s ultimate sacrifice in the 7th century

continues to inspire millions today. ‘A Jour-ney of Love’ crystallises the human and as-pirational traits of Imam Hussain – love,beauty, truth and freedom. Hamza’s under-standing of Imam Hussain was as a result ofhis journey back to his faith. His interactionwith the figure was at a time when he ques-tioned his theological background and thehistorical imprint he was born into. His owncontext informs the art produced and his de-piction of Imam Hussain.

Author evening: ‘Sound System: The PoliticalPower of Music’ with Dave Randall1 November 2017

This author evening with musician andactivist Dave Randall showcased the au-

Ahmed Uddin inconversation withDr Ang Swee Chai


thor’s book in which he relates his journey todiscover what makes music so powerful.Randall finds political inspiration across themusical spectrum and poses the question:how can we make music serve the interestsof many, rather than the few? The author isalso an activist and has campaigned forPalestine. The book contains a chapter called‘Music of the Arab Revolutions’, which cov-ers music in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syriaat the time of the Arab Spring.

Children’s Storytelling:Treasures of Jannah with Tiny Mu’mins 18 December 2017

This storytelling session featured YasminEgala and Samira Dramani from TinyMu’mins who presided over an exciting andinteractive storytelling session to teach chil-dren about the “Treasures of Jannah.” Writ-ten by Yasmin Egala, it is the story of twinsAdam and Hana who love to visit theirGrandma. Grandma gives the best cuddlesand tells the best stories, but today, sheshares another tale. Instead of a story,Grandma tells them of a place of wonder anddelight - Jannah.Jannah is a land of milk anddreams, woven together by Grandma’s

words and brought to life in the minds oftwo eager, curious children.

Author Evening:‘Great Muslims of the West –Makers of Western Islam’with Muhammad Mojlum Khan29 January 2018

IHRC was privileged to host MuhammadMojlum Khan, author of The Great Muslimsof the West, a unique, inspiring and authori-tative study of the history, culture and her-itage of the Western world from an Islamicperspective. Through the lives of more than50 great Western Muslims, this book revealsa remarkably rich and diverse cultural his-tory spanning more than 1400 years. Chal-lenging Eurocentric or essentialist views onWestern history, culture and civilisation, thisbook argues that Islam – like Christianity –has always been a Western religion and cul-ture. Indeed, the lives and contributions ofthe extraordinary and influential WesternMuslims covered in this book shows thatIslam is truly a global faith and culture, tran-scending race, colour, language and geo-graphical boundaries. Aimed at students,scholars and general readers, this highly in-novative, informative and invaluable book is


a must read for Muslims and non-Muslims,Westerners and Easterners alike.

Children’s Storytelling: The Story of the Elephant with Hajera Memon14 February 2018

Author Hajera Memon joined us for a sto-rytelling session that stimulated the imagi-nation of children with a story based on thehistoric event described in the Quran inwhich Abraha’s army of Elephants set offfrom Yemen to destroy the Kaaba.

Author Evening: ‘Whites, Jews, and Us: Towarda Politics of Revolutionary Love’with Houria Bouteldja3 March 2018

French-Algerian activist and authorHouria Bouteldja presented her latest bookWhites, Jews, and Us, a scathing critique ofthe European Left from an indigenous anti-colonial perspective, reflecting on FrantzFanon’s political legacy, the republican pact,the Shoah, the creation of Israel, feminism,and the fate of postcolonial immigration in

the West in the age of rising anti-immigrantpopulism. Drawing upon such prominentvoices as James Baldwin, Malcolm X, andJean Genet, the book issues a polemical callfor a militant anti-racism grounded in theconcept of revolutionary love.


Since 1997 IHRC has been at the forefrontof tackling anti-Muslim discriminationand prejudice. Since we started, we

have helped many people and haveexpanded the support we provide.

IHRC Legal helps people with employ-ment discrimination and immigration mat-ters.

IMMIGRATION LAW:

We advise on the full range of applications tothe Home Office including:

- Human Rights applications

- Family migration

- ndefinite Leave to Remain

- EU nationals and their family members• British Nationality

• Refusals and Appeals

- Preparation of and representation at Appealhearings

The Immigration services we provide areregulated by the UK government regulator,Office of Immigration Services Commis-sioner (OISC). We are regulated at Level 3,which is the highest level possible.

EMPLOYMENT LAW:

IHRC Legal can help you with:

- Discrimination

- Constructive/Unfair dismissal

- Bullying/Harassment at work

- Grievances / disciplinary proceedings

- Compromise/Settlement Agreements

As well as other employments issues thatmay arise.

IHRC Advocacy team supports peoplewho have been the victim of racial or reli-gious discrimination. We can support peopleto identify relevant issues / who to complainto, draft the complaint itself, and representa-tion, where this proves necessary.

Areas we focus on include:

- Complaints about the application of Pre-vent.

- Education: discrimination on the basis ofrace or faith (ie complaints to schools, LocalAuthorities, Department of Education, Of-sted etc).

- Police: Independent Police ComplaintsCommission.

- Complaints about racism and Islamopho-bia to government bodies (eg against socialservices / local councils etc).

For more information please speak to amember of our casework team by contactingus at [email protected] or 020 8904 4222.

All information is treated in the strictest con-fidence and no information will be passed onto any third party without your consent.

IHRC Legal successfully supports destitutepensioner with immigration difficulties

IHRC Legal came to the aid of an elderly78 year old client who, despite living in theUK for 45 years continuously, was unable toget his immigration status regularised. Des-titute and struggling, the client was not al-lowed to rent or claim benefits. Fortunatelywith the help of IHRC Legal he was grantedindefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Born in 1939, the client arrived in the UKas a commonwealth citizen in 1970 fromEast Pakistan (now Bangladesh.) Since ar-riving in the UK, and over the succeedingyears, the client worked hard to support

IHRC Legal and Advocacy


himself. He was employed in various fac-tories and railway stations before workingas a tailor. During his years in employmentthe client always made tax contributions.

Due to his employment in previousyears, he was granted a small state pensionbut this was insufficient to live on. His casewas taken up by IHRC Legal and his HomeOffice application was funded by the IHRCLegal Fund and National Zakat Foundation.The legal arguments raised by our teamwere successful and our client was grantedindefinite leave to remain in the UK - allow-ing him access to benefits and a more ade-quate state pension.

IHRC Legal offers a bespoke UK Immi-gration law consultancy service and is regu-lated by the UK government regulator,Office of Immigration Services Commis-sioner (OISC) at Level 3.

IHRC Legal helped a family of six gainleave to remain in the UK

The client and her husband came to theUK separately as visitors over 10 years ago.They both met and started a relationshipwhile in the UK. The couple had four chil-dren, three of whom were born in the UK.Unfortunately, our clients overstayed theirvisa. Several attempts were made to regu-larise their stay but to no avail.

IHRC Legal agreed to take up the fam-ily’s case. IHRC Legal argued that the re-fusal to grant the family leave to remainwould be a breach of the family’s Article 8right to private and family life. Furthermore,it would unreasonable for the Home Officeto request the family leave the UK and re-turn to their country of origin particularlysince two of the children had been born inthe UK, had their schooling in the UK andthe family had settled and integrated to lifein the UK.

The Home Office fee for this type of ap-plication for the entire family was an exor-bitant £5958 plus an immigration healthsurcharge of £3000, making a total of £8958.Being destitute, unable to work and whollyreliant on charitable and local authority sup-port, our clients naturally could not affordto pay the fee.

IHRC Legal successfully applied for a“fee waiver” and argued that our client’swould be rendered destitute if they were ex-pected to pay £8958 for an immigration ap-plication. IHRC Legal prepared detailedsubmissions and submitted comprehensiveevidence of our client’s financials means.

Finally, after several months, IHRCLegal’s request for a fee waiver of £8958 wasaccepted and shortly after the clients’ appli-cation for leave to remain in the UK wasgranted.

Our legal team specialises inemployment and immigration

matters.


IHRC have been working on a number offorthcoming documentaries over the pastyear. In summer 2017 our team travelled

to Bosnia with the winner of the GenocideMemorial Day 2017 Poetry Competition tomeet with Bosnian activist DemirMahmutcehajic. The team toured the countryand went to Srebrenica to commemorate theanniversary of the genocide there. Adocumentary is being produced based onthis enlightening experience.

Two documentaries focused on Islamo-phobia are currently in post-production andare set to be released later this year. Theyfocus respectively on discrimination in theeducation system and how hate attacks tar-get mosques. IHRC is also currently in theearly stages of production of a TV series dis-cussing socio-political issues across theworld that asks “How Did We End UpHere?”

We have recently started a weekly socialmedia series, called IHRC Weekly Messagediscussing various campaigning and actionalerts, as well as topical issues in a timelymanner. Subscribe to the IHRCTV Youtubechannel: www.youtube.com/user/IHRCtv

IHRC has continued its presence on socialmedia platforms like Twitter, Facebook, In-stagram, Youtube and Vimeo. Our events –

from large-scale conferences to small AuthorEvenings – are all streamed live online onYoutube, Facebook and on our website atIHRC.TV. Audience members from aroundthe world often interact directly with theevent by commenting and asking questionsvia Twitter and Facebook.

IHRC is also on the verge of launching itsnew website, an exciting new platform thatwill showcase the great extent of IHRC’swork. The new website is more user friendlywhile presenting a new, pleasing aesthetic.

IHRC also offers its supporters a numberof different mailing lists to subscribe to forweekly information. The Alerts list has gen-eral updates, event information, invitationsand more (http://eepurl.com/OnJE9); theIHRC Bookshop list for new titles and dis-count codes (http://eepurl.com/WDZE1);the Islamophobia list for a carefully curatedmonthly newsletter(http://eepurl.com/bWDnML); the Nigerialist for updates on the ongoing conflict andways to campaign/volunteer/donate(http://eepurl.com/bML3c5) and the SaudiArabia for updates on the region, new mediaand interesting articles as well as ways tocampaign. Other general updates can also befound on social media platforms like Face-book and Twitter which users can like/fol-low for regular and immediate content.

Social Media and Video

Our Author Evening with Dave Randall waslivestreamed on IHRC.TV, Youtube and Facebook Live


IHRC’s work again attracted plenty ofmedia coverage throughout the year.Here is a selection of mentions:

The Times26 November 2017Islamophobia award ‘putstarget on back’ of formerequalities chief Trevor Phillips

The annual Islamophobia awards are“genuinely dangerous”, according to TrevorPhillips, the former equalities chief who isnominated for a controversial satirical awardfrom the Islamic Human Rights Commission(IHRC).

Other nominees for the Islamophobiaawards, presented in a London ceremonytonight by the pressure group — which is au-thorised to take part in UN meetings — in-clude Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, andDame Louise Casey, the former integrationtsar.

BBC News22 January 2018Finsbury Park: Man ‘wanted tokill Muslims in van attack’

Prosecutors believe Mr Osborne had beenplanning to target an Al Quds Day march inLondon, organised by the Islamic HumanRights Commission, on 18 June.

Mr Osborne is believed to have asked ablack cab driver for directions to GrosvenorSquare, the destination of the marchers, thecourt heard.

Mr Rees added: “We are not able to sayquite how close the defendant came to themarchers or Grosvenor Square, although itseems likely the defendant was preventedfrom carrying out an attack because of theroad closures that were put in place.”

The London Economic 22 January 2018

Van driver who ploughed into a group of

muslims, killing one, told police ‘at least Ihad a proper go’, court hears

“It seems that his original intention hadbeen to drive the van into people taking partin the Al Quds Day march through centralLondon, an event organised by the IslamicHuman Rights Commission. However,when that option had not proved viable, hedrove around London looking for alternativetarget.”

The Guardian20 June 2017Finsbury Park suspect ‘madeabusive remarks aboutPalestinian march’

The IHRC, which organises the march,said that before this year’s event it had beenmade aware of social media postings threat-ening violence, including one individualwho threatened to drive a van into themarch. There is no suggestion this was Os-borne.

Before the march the organisers put out astatement saying the event would go aheadregardless. It said: “Despite the misinforma-tion and lies currently being put out and thedemonisation of the event that is takingplace, the annual al-Quds Day march willstill be going ahead.” They also flagged upconcerns to the Metropolitan police. AnIHRC spokesman said on Tuesday there hadbeen tension but no major incident.

Middle East Eye14 November 2017‘A challenge for us all’: Studyhighlights prevalentIslamophobia in UK

British Muslim communities have be-come more organised and an activist com-munity has emerged that is challengingIslamophobia directly, the report says.

Yet 20 years ago, Islamophobia was not ashigh a priority within activist circles as it istoday, according to a chapter by Chris Allen,a sociologist and expert on Islamophobia at

IHRC in Media


Birmingham University.While the Islamic Human Rights Com-

mission had been challenging Islamophobiasince the 90s, Allen says that Islamophobiabecame a central concern for the Muslimcommunity in the years after the publicationof Runnymede’s 1997 report.

The New Arab29 November 2017It’s open season on Muslims,and Trumps tweets prove it

Former equalities chief Trevor Philips thisweek deemed the Islamophobia awards - anannual satirical event in the UK, organisedby the Islamic Human Rights Commission -“genuinely dangerous” and stated that thelabel “painted a target on the back of peopleon the list”, apparently oblivious - or indif-ferent to - the target that Islamophobia paintson its victims’ backs.

A 24-year-old British man was sentencedto two years and three months in prison lastweek for attempting to locate and stab aMuslim passer-by, and electronics companyHuawei faced a backlash and calls for boy-

cott in China for a phone feature that re-minded Muslims of prayer times and coulddirect them to the nearest mosque.

Al Jazeera2 June 2017Has Katie Hopkins committed ahate crime?

The question we should really be askingis, therefore, not wheth¬er Hopkins has com-mitted a hate crime, but why she is able toenjoy a mainstream public platform and aguise of respectability as a political com-mentator, which allows her to engage in anti-Muslim ranting with impunity.

The answer is that, sadly, Islamophobia isso endemic within the British media and so-ciety at large - as has been well documentedby organisations such as the independentthink tank, the Runnymede Trust, and the Is-lamic Human Rights Commission - thatwhen Hopkins expresses Islamophobicviews, they are not recognised for what theyare, but, instead, are treated as legitimate, ifinflammatory, expressions of political opin-ion.

IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjarehis interviewed at the 2017Islamophobia Awards


The Nation28 November 2017Trump voted Islamophobe of theYear

The annual Islamophobia Awards by theLondon-based Islamic Human Rights Com-mission hosted the representatives of manyNGOs and Muslims.

The winner in the Islamophobia Awards

2017’s ‘UK’ category is OFSTED who re-cently announced they would be quizzingyoung students who wore the hijab. The‘News Media’ gong has gone to Fox Newswho has been fierce champions of DonaldTrump and his discriminatory policies.

The Independent 22 June 2017Finsbury Park attack: Suspectmay have wanted to target pro-Palestinian rally in London

The Finsbury Park attack suspect mayhave originally intended to target a pro-Palestinian protest that saw thousands ofpeople march through central London, it hasemerged.

Witnesses who saw Darren Osbornedrinking at a pub in Cardiff the night beforehe allegedly drove 160 miles in a hired vanto launch the attack said they overheard himranting about the Al Quds Day rally.

Led by the Islamic Human Rights Com-mission, the controversial march was set to

start at 3pm on Sunday.Al-Bawaba28 November 2017‘Proud’ of Killing the MostPalestinians: How IsraeliOfficials Get Away WithBoasting Abuses

Equally, for her role in failing to stop whatthe U.N. has suggested is the ethnic cleans-ing of Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’smilitary, Aung San Suu Kyi has been widelycondemned by the international community.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has beenstripped of various accolades, including onTuesday the “Freedom of the City of Ox-ford.” She beat Donald Trump to be satiri-cally dubbed “Islamophobe of the Year”according to the Islamic Human RightsCommission on Sunday.

ITV News1 February 2018Finsbury Park attacker DarrenOsborne: What led him to kill?

It seems Osborne’s original target was theAl Quds march organised by the IslamicHuman Rights Commission. He later toldthe jury that he’d thought labour leader Je-remy Corbyn would be present. Asked ifhe’d hoped to kill Mr Corbyn, he said “Ohyeah. It would be one less terrorist off ourstreets. If [London Mayor] Sadiq Khan hadbeen there it would have been even better. Itwould have been like winning the lottery.”

AhlulBayt News Agency10 January 2018Nigerian forces attack peacefulprotesters demanding releaseof Sheikh Zakzaky

Nigerian sources said on Monday that atleast two young students were killed by thesecurity forces during the ongoing protestsin Kaduna which broke out on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Human RightsCommission has called on Nigerian author-

Prosecutors believeMr Osborne had beenplanning to target anAl Quds Day march inLondon, organised bythe Islamic HumanRights Commission,

on 18 June


ities to immediately release Shiekh Zakzakyover his deteriorating health condition.

“In view of his deteriorating health, it isnow more urgent than ever to allow SheikhZakzaky to be allowed access to immediatemedical attention in order to assess the ex-tent of his injuries caused by the stroke andaccess the necessary medical treatment,”read the statement.

Zakzaky lost his left eye sight in a raid,which was carried out by the Nigerian armyon his residence in the northern town ofZaria back in December 2015. During theraid, Zakzaky’s wife sustained seriouswounds too and more than 700 of his fol-lowers and three of his sons were killed. Za-kzaky, his wife, and a large number of thecleric’s followers have since been in custody.

The clergyman is said to have been seri-ously injured. Rep of Islamic Movement inSokoro Shaykh Kassim Sokoto was shot andinjured by malice Police in his leg, accordingto source the bullets broke the leg.

Islam21c30 November 2017Tackling institutionalIslamophobia needs to gobeyond mere verbosity

The recent example of the deeply worry-ing and ‘wrong-headed’ Ofsted decision tointerpret donning hijab at primary schools asa potential “sexualisation of young girls” andto ask them the reasons for doing so, is a casein point. As the Muslim Council of Britain(MCB) pointed out, “It sends out a clear mes-sage to all British women who adopt this thatthey are second-class citizens, that while theyare free to wear the headscarf, the establish-ment would prefer that they do not.” Not tomention becoming a policy without even“engaging with a diverse set of mainstreamMuslim voices” on the topic.

In fact, an eye-opening survey and reportfrom the Islamic Human Rights Commission(IHRC) in 2015 echoed that government poli-cies, including those linked to security andextremism, are having a “negative impact”on British Muslims. It stated that more thanhalf (58%) said they had been treated withsuspicion by society, while 93% said they had

seen negative stereotypes of Muslims por-trayed in the media. “The impact of govern-ment policies, in particular those related withsecurity, have really had an impact on si-lencing Muslims – not from a point of viewof just talking about political issues, but evento report anti-Muslim hatred… What we re-ally need is a cultural change, not just somelaws here or there. Unfortunately, we haveinstitutional problems that need to be ad-dressed.”

Daily Sabah28 November 2017Myanmar’s Suu Kyi stripped ofOxford award

Oxford’s world-renowned university re-moved portraits of Suu Kyi, a former stu-dent, from its walls in September. Suu Kyi’slate husband Michael Aris was a lecturer inAsian history at the university, and the cou-ple lived and raised their two sons in the city.

In September, an Oxford college removeda portrait of Suu Kyi from public display andplaced it in storage. Earlier in November,Irish musician and founder of Live Aid BobGeldof returned his Freedom of the City ofDublin award, a civic honor also held by SuuKyi.

Suu Kyi was also dubbed 2017’s “Inter-national Islamophobe of the Year” on Sun-day by the London-based Islamic HumanRights Commission, beating U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, French National Front leaderMarine Le Pen and far-right Dutch FreedomParty chief Geert Wilders, according toAnadolu Agency

An eye-opening survey andreport from the IslamicHuman Rights Commission(IHRC) in 2015 echoed thatgovernment policies,including those linked to

security and extremism, arehaving a “negative impact”on British Muslims.


Geo News, Pakistan22 October 2017Islamophobia and ‘brownface’

In 2010, the Islamic Human Rights Com-mission conducted a survey: about 50 per-cent of Muslims said they had not witnessedIslamophobia; that figure that has nowcrashed to 18 percent. Before Katie Freemanspent a week as a Muslim, she admitted shewould avoid sitting next to a Muslim onpublic transport because “you see them andthink they’re going to blow something up.”Now she says: “I’m amazed. They’re just thesame [as us], aren’t they?” Freeman says shesuffered extreme levels of abuse on the streetas a Muslim and nearly quit. Her fear ofMuslims has turned to empathy.

Press TV9 September 2017Saudi airstrikes in Yemen clearwar crimes

The Saudis “are targeting ordinary civil-ians, even including children, they are tar-geting funerals and they are actuallycommitting war crimes and the responsibil-ity for this goes far beyond Saudi Arabia.Governments who are involved in the com-mand structure of this world, including theUnited States and Britain, are equally re-sponsible for these war crimes, and I do notknow how far these sorts of activities ofSaudis, which are clearly war crimes, aregoing to continue and why the world is silentstill [in spite of] these barbaric acts against or-dinary innocent people in Yemen,” MassoudShadjareh, head of the Islamic Human RightsCommission, told Press TV in an interviewon Friday.

The comments come as Human RightsWatch has lashed out at the Saudi-led coali-tion for its refusal to provide information onits role in the massive unlawful airstrikesagainst Yemen in an attempt to avoid inter-national legal liability.

Daily Trust16 August 2017Islamic Commission seeks AUintervention in Zakzaky’s case

The Islamic Human Rights Commission,IHRC, on Wednesday urged the Africanunion, AU to intervene in the case of de-tained Islamic movement leader SheikhIbrahim al-Zakzaky and his wife.

The Rights Commission made this knownin a letter addressed to the leadership of theAU.

The letter stated that Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky and his wife are been held in de-tention along with 167 members of the IMNfollowing their arrest during a military as-sault against the Islamic Movement of Nige-ria (IMN) in December 2015.

It also stated that Sheikh Ibrahim al-Za-kzaky and his wife are still been held in de-tention despite the court order for the releaseof the couple set by a federal high courtjudge on December 2, 2016, which ruled theirincarceration was illegal and unconstitu-tional.

Islamophobia is soendemic within theBritish media andsociety at large -as has been welldocumented byorganisations suchas the IslamicHuman RightsCommission


Peacefulmarchers atAl Quds Day


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My dear friends and supporters,we have to rise up to all of thesechallenges and many others too.

For that we need all of your support.Without your participation and financialsupport, we would not be able to fulfil -and in the future increase - our currentlevel of work. We can and must do ittogether. Let us united for justice under

the banner of la ilaha illallah.

Massoud ShadjarehChair, Islamic Human Rights Commission ”

“

The Islamic Human Rights Commission is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

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islamic human rights commission · that to repeat the government narrative is a grave mistake...

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