BIRMINGHAM: With the political debate about Islam heating up ahead of Britain’s general election next month, the impact is particularly keenly felt in Birmingham, a city where a quarter of the population is Muslim.
“The politicians are using Muslims as a punch bag,” said Abdul Rashid, head of the city’s main mosque.
“The politicians look for cheap and easy ways to popularity... And at the moment the cheap and easy way of gaining popularity is immigration and Islamophobia,” the 73-year-old told AFP.
Birmingham is Britain’s second biggest city with 1.2 million residents — almost half of them from ethnic minorities — and is often singled out when fears are expressed about a growing terror threat.
Following the attacks against the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January, an analyst on the US network Fox News even spoke of Birmingham as a “no-go zone” for non-Muslims.
He since apologized for the comments, which hurt many inhabitants in the former industrial hub.
The first Muslim immigrants — Yemenis — arrived in Birmingham in the early 20th century to work in the metal industry. There have since been waves of arrivals, many of them from the Indian subcontinent but also from Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia.
The city is known now for a mostly peaceful coexistence between communities, although it was hit by a nationwide spate of riots in 2011 following the police killing of a mixed-race man in London.
Birmingham is “a city where people feel that they can live together and tolerate each other,” said Mashuq Ally, deputy head of a special local government department in charge of community cohesion.
Ally is in constant contact with the city’s dozens of ethnic communities to avoid any disputes or violence.
“Although we are said to be the second most vulnerable city to terrorism after London, we are fairly safe because the community is part of the solution,” he said, hailing cooperation between the city council, Muslim communities and the police.
Philippe Trzebiatowski, a young Frenchman working on a Birmingham travel guide for the company Expedia, said that “people mix quite naturally here.”
Not everything is rosy however in Brummie-land, the diminutive nickname used for city residents.
A scandal erupted last year when it emerged that radical Muslims were trying to take over the boards of several city schools, and many communities choose to live separate lives in a type of self-segregation.
According to the 2011 census, three areas have a Muslim population of more than 70 percent — Washwood Heath, Bordesley Green and Sparkbrook.
Professor Carl Chinn, who heads up a community history project at the University of Birmingham, said the tendency to stick together does not apply just to Muslims in Birmingham but also the white working-class and happens in cities across Europe.
“That is an issue we need to address without hyperbole,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
Around 4,000 faithful come out for Friday prayers at Birmingham’s main mosque.
As children from a local school arrived for a guided tour, Rashid said that in recent years all faiths in the city have made more of an effort to build ties.
Determined to fight against prejudice, he is encouraging Muslims to go and vote on May 7 to show they are active members of British society.
“There was a time when it was thought that all migrants will vote for Labour and I think that is gone,” he said.
“As the community is maturing, they are considering other political parties, other opinions,” he said.
Professor Matthew Francis, an expert in ethnic minority voting at the University of Birmingham, said that between 55 and 60 percent of voters of Asian origin in Britain usually vote for Labour.
For Conservatives, support among Muslims is only about 10 percent, while among Hindus and Sikhs it is slightly higher at 15 to 20 percent, he said.
“Part of the reason for the general hostility to the Conservatives is the longer legacy that they have of being far more vocally opposed to immigration and far more sceptical about multiculturalism,” he said.
In election campaign, British Muslims feel the heat
In election campaign, British Muslims feel the heat
MSF condemns surge of violence in DR Congo’s Ituri province
More than half of the victims of violence that MSF treated at its clinic in the provincial capital, Bunia, up until mid-March were women and children
KINSHASA: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Tuesday said civilians were suffering “horrific” wounds in a new surge in violence in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s turbulent Ituri province.
Gold-rich Ituri has long been hit by conflict between ethnic militia as well as attacks by the Daesh-linked group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
It lies just north of North and South Kivu provinces, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large tracts of territory in recent months, but the fighting is not linked to the violence in Ituri.
The medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, said it had seen “a renewed spike in atrocities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, where its medical teams are providing care for civilians with horrific injuries.”
Citing UN figures, it said violence had displaced around 100,000 people since the beginning of the year, with attacks killing more than 200 people in January and February alone.
More than half of the victims of violence that MSF treated at its clinic in the provincial capital, Bunia, up until mid-March were women and children, it said.
“In February, MSF’s medical teams treated children as young as four and pregnant women for machete and gunshot wounds following militia attacks” in which sometimes other family members had been killed.
Healthcare facilities are also prey to attacks, MSF warned, saying threats by armed groups had forced a hospital to suspend its activities and evacuate patients this month. Other health centers have been destroyed.
The crisis in Ituri “is characterised by repeated displacement, in which violence forces civilians to pick up and start their lives over, again and again.
“What is worse, is that the stories patients and communities tell us represent only the tip of the iceberg,” the NGO said.
Ituri suffered a conflict between ethnic-based militias from 1999 to 2003 that killed thousands before the intervention of a European force.
In 2021, Uganda deployed troops with the DRC’s consent to Ituri, ostensibly to clear the area of the ADF.
The Ugandan army has also launched an operation this month against a militia known as the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco).
From staple to fusion: Malaysia’s Ramadan markets blend heritage and culinary trends
- With thousands spread across the country, Ramadan bazaars have become prominent in Malaysia
- Markets showcase country’s rich food landscape and beyond, from traditional dishes to international favorites
KUALA LUMPUR: Deeply rooted in Malaysia’s culture, night markets are teeming with life during Ramadan, when both Muslims and non-Muslims flock to these bustling venues to be greeted with culinary surprises that keep up with the latest food trends.
Over the years, the idea of bazaars during Ramadan has become prominent, with the capital’s biggest night markets — such as the one in Wangsa Maju area — featuring a long line of food stalls that stretch for hundreds of meters.
“We have been selling kuih muih and nasi lemak for many years now — the recipe is my grandmother’s,” Siti Amirah Hassan, who runs a stall at the Sri Sinar Bazaar in Kuala Lumpur’s Segambut district, told Arab News.
Kuih muih is a broad assortment of traditional bite-sized snacks, with the main ingredients being grated coconut, pandan leaves and palm sugar.
Hassan, a third-generation cook in her family, said that adapting to the customers’ changing preferences has meant transforming her family’s recipes to fit new trends, including adding fried lobsters to nasi lemak, which is traditionally served with fried chicken.
“Now we cannot get by just by selling the traditional nasi lemak or the Malay kuih muih … we have to keep doing new things. If I don’t do it, someone else will, then we lose the business,” she said.
As the bazaars have grown in both size and diversity over the years, they now showcase not only Malaysia’s rich food landscape, but also contemporary and viral food, artisanal products and modern takes on traditional dishes.
But the changes have also created opportunities for sellers like Arif Abdul Rahman, whose stall in Wangsa Maju offers molten chocolate and red velvet cakes.
“Ramadan bazaars changed a lot already; last time only the traditional things will sell,” he told Arab News.
“Malaysian mentality is very different now. Everyone is OK; they are open to trying new things,” he said. “Through this, we get an opportunity to build our business and establish it in our community.”
For Arif and his peers, Ramadan bazaars are a great source of income.
More than 65,000 stalls were opened for Ramadan bazaars, according to a 2023 report by Malaysia’s Department of Statistics, generating about 1.9 billion ringgit ($428 million) in total sales.
“Ramadan time (is) very lucrative, almost four times (sales for the) business,” Rahman said. “Hopefully this can continue for a long time.”
Under vibrant-colored canopies, sellers at the bazaars offer a variety of cuisines ranging from traditional Malay meals to Indian fusion dishes, while others have ventured into Western and Arabic fares.
Ramadan bazaars are also found in smaller neighborhoods throughout the capital, as many Malaysians consider them a must-visit during the holy month.
While Muslims would visit the markets as early as 4 p.m. each day to buy meals for iftar, the bazaars are also frequented by non-Muslims in search of good food.
The popularity of these bazaars is likely to continue, as for customers like Nina Fazliana Muhammad, visiting them is a family excursion.
“I have got three kids, all under the age of seven. They are always in a better mood after a walk through our neighborhood bazaar, firstly because of the variety of food, but also the fun of spending all that time together,” she told Arab News.
Some days, a trip to the bazaar also offered the 44-year-old entrepreneur a break from cooking.
“A 30-minute walk through the bazaar and I can have a delicious spread ready for a family break of fast. So, truly, it is a lifesaver.”
For Lee Kok Yong, the bazaars have become a tradition.
“Every year … at least once we will go … at this point it is like a family tradition. And, honestly, it is a very nice experience,” he said.
“It is like a one-stop where we get to not just eat our hearts out, but learn about new food traditions.”
US visit puts ‘unacceptable pressure’ on Greenland: Danish PM
- “You can’t organize a private visit with official representatives of another country,” Frederiksen told reporters
- “This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants”
COPENHAGEN: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday criticized a planned US delegation visit to Greenland, a Danish territory coveted by President Donald Trump, as putting “unacceptable pressure” on both the territory and her country.
The White House has announced that Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, will visit Greenland from Thursday to Saturday to attend Greenland’s national dogsled race in El-Sisimiut, on the northwestern coast.
The race has been largely sponsored by the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenlandic media reported.
According to the Arctic island’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede, US national security adviser Mike Waltz will also visit Greenland this week, while US media have reported that Energy Secretary Chris Wright will travel there as well.
The visits, presented as private, have angered Danish and Greenlandic politicians.
“You can’t organize a private visit with official representatives of another country,” Frederiksen told reporters.
The visit comes at a time of political flux in Greenland, where political parties are still negotiating to form a new coalition government following a March 11 general election.
“This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants,” Frederiksen told broadcaster DR.
“That’s why I have to say that the pressure being put on Greenland and Denmark in this situation is unacceptable.
“And it’s pressure we will resist,” she added.
The outgoing Greenlandic government said in a post on Facebook it had not “sent out any invitations for visits, private or official.”
“The current government is a transitional government pending the formation of a new governing coalition, and we have asked all countries to respect this process,” it wrote.
Since returning to power in January, Trump has insisted he wants the United States to take over Greenland for national security purposes and has even refused to rule out the use of force to achieve that aim.
A self-governing Danish territory which is seeking to emancipate itself from Copenhagen, Greenland holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.
It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up due to climate change.
Greenland’s location also puts it on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the US.
According to opinion polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington.
Greenland’s likely new prime minister — Jens-Frederik Nielsen of the center-right Democrats, who won the election — has criticized Trump’s moves on Greenland as “inappropriate.”
Aaja Chemnitz, a lawmaker representing Greenland in the Danish parliament, insisted the US delegation had not been invited.
“No one from the Greenlandic official system has invited the so-called tourists. They’re coming, using soft power diplomacy and also focusing on security issues and this is totally unacceptable,” Chemnitz told AFP.
Trump maintained the visit was at the invitation of Greenland.
“We’ve been invited,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
“We’re dealing with a lot of people from Greenland that would like to see something happen with respect to being properly protected and properly taken care of,” he said.
The Danish prime minister stressed Copenhagen and Nuuk were still open to cooperation with the US.
“We are allies, we have a defense agreement on Greenland that dates back to 1951,” Frederiksen said.
“There is nothing that indicates, neither in Denmark nor Greenland, that we don’t want to cooperate with the Americans.”
The US delegation will be met by a protest in El-Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-biggest town with 5,500 people, where locals have been encouraged to turn their backs on the US convoy, one of the organizers told daily Sermitsiaq.
“This is our way of showing that we don’t agree with their presence and their way of doing things,” Per Norgard said.
The delegation is also expected to visit a US air base in Pituffik, though no official program has been published.
In the current negotiations to form a new coalition government, only one of the five parties in parliament has quit the talks — the Naleraq party.
While all of the parties are in favor of eventual independence, Naleraq has campaigned for a quicker emancipation from Denmark.
Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without health care
- WHO says hundreds of health centers, clinics across country are set to close by June
- Afghan health sector relies on donors as govt covers only 3% of total expenditure
KABUL: Afghan doctors warn that new foreign funding cuts are depriving the country’s most vulnerable of health care, especially in rural areas, where aid-dependent NGOs are the sole providers.
The WHO announced last week that 206 health facilities across 28 provinces of Afghanistan were either suspended or closed due to a lack of financial support.
About 200 more clinics, health centers and mobile health and nutrition teams operating in remote areas of the country are set to close by June.
The UN health agency said that the funding shortfall, which comes amid massive US aid cuts since January, is leaving an additional 1.8 million Afghans without access to primary health care.
“The big hospitals in provincial capitals are primarily run by the government while most of the health centers in rural areas are operated by NGOs with funding from different donors,” Dr. Zobair Saljuqi, a doctor at Herat Regional Hospital, told Arab News.
Most of the rural population cannot afford to travel to provincial capitals or major cities for treatment. Health facilities in remote areas are also crucial for women, especially since their movement has been curtailed by the Taliban administration.
“If these health facilities don’t receive the needed financial aid, they cannot continue functioning even for a month because from staff salaries, through running costs, to medicines — all are provided by the donors,” Saljuqi said.
“Women will face severe challenges during pregnancies and children could die due to malnutrition or infectious diseases.”
The halt in US aid is another blow to Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation since the Taliban took over in 2021. Following the collapse of the country’s Western-backed regime, the US withdrew its troops and froze all projects overnight, after spending billions on two decades of military and development operations.
Afghanistan’s health sector relies on donor funds. UN estimates show that out-of-pocket expenses and external funding make up 97 percent of total health expenditure, while government contributions account for just 3 percent.
Dr. Ahmad Tariq, who works at a health center in Qarghayi district, Laghman province, said that almost everyone in his neighborhood depended on the facility.
“People here are very poor. They are all either farmers or daily laborers. They can’t afford to travel to the center of the province or buy medicine,” he told Arab News.
“Our small facility is helping tens of patients every day, men and women, children and elderly persons. They come for OPD consultations as well as vaccination and receive some medicine for free. If it wasn’t for this center most of the people would have been deprived of basic health services.”
According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health data, 72 percent of the rural population lacks access to primary and secondary health care services.
Of the country’s 400 districts, only 93 have operational hospitals, and almost 10 million people in more than 20,000 villages have limited or no access to basic health services.
Dr. Mohammad Nazar, a public health practitioner in Kabul, forecast that the sudden shortage of US-led funding would further devastate Afghanistan’s already fragile health system, which had endured decades of war and Soviet and American invasions.
“Almost all health centers across rural areas are supported by donors and humanitarian organizations,” he said.
“Tens of health facilities are already closing, which means more and more women, children, elderly persons, displaced persons ... will have no access to essential health services and mortality from preventable diseases would rise.”
UK reaffirms Middle East security partnership with US despite war plans leak
- The Trump administration accidentally leaked key military information about US airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen on March 15, just hours before the attack
LONDON: Britain will continue to work with the United States on regional security in the Middle East and will deepen relations with Washington on intelligence and defense matters, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday.
Asked about the mistaken disclosure to a journalist of a conversation about US military action against Houthi targets, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was confident any communication of British intelligence with the US would not be leaked.
In an article published on Monday, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief disclosed that officials from the Trump administration shared key military information with him about US airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen on March 15, just hours before the attack.
Jeffrey Goldberg, an experienced journalist, explained that US government officials mistakenly included him in a text channel where they were discussing the details of the strike.
“The US is our closest ally when it comes to matters of intelligence and defense,” the spokesperson told reporters, declining to comment directly on the specific story.
“We work with the United States incredibly closely on all matters in relation to defense and security ... We will continue to work with the US on regional security.”
