Buddy Hell 🥤

Never forget how the world can cooperate to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz but couldn't cooperate to get food into Gaza. Everything is a choice.

Too many are too polite to say this. But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan - which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger - is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination. Perform these rituals in mosques if you wish. But they are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions. And given their explicit repudiation of Christianity they certainly do not belong in our churches and cathedrals. I am not suggesting everybody at Trafalgar Square last night is an Islamist. But the domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook. Trafalgar Square belongs to all of us. It is a national memorial to our independence and our salvation. Last night was not like a televised football match or a St Patrick’s Day celebration. It was an act of domination and therefore division. It shouldn’t happen again.

Labour’s Islamophobia definition is unlawful and infringes free speech. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins could be silenced by Labour’s new anti-Muslim hostility definition. Dawkins has regularly criticised Islam for its oppressive qualities. The Free Speech Union has sent a pre-action letter to the Communities Secretary, threatening judicial review if the definition and guidance are not withdrawn immediately. In our letter, we also warned about the chilling effect this definition will have on women’s ability to comment on and critique aspects of Islam, and the acts of those who follow it, that are deeply harmful to women in particular. “For example, women, and indeed Muslim women (in particular) may feel inhibited from speaking about actions such as so-called ‘honour killings’ where such speech may be labelled and regulated as anti-Muslim hostility”. The definition could also hinder campaigners working to expose practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), predatory grooming gangs, and abuses of women’s rights. Another problem is that this definition could penalise people simply for recounting historical events. This could impact Sikhs, for example, when marking the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, who defended the Hindu faith against Muslims. In our letter, we warned that the definition and guidance could lead to “offensive comments” — or perfectly legitimate expressions of free speech — being logged as “anti-Muslim hostility”. This would create a new form of non-crime hate incident (NCHI), inhibiting public debate while wasting police time and taxpayers’ money. This official definition is a Muslim blasphemy law by the back door, which will silence public debate and legitimate criticism of Islam, its practices, and its history. Read more below 👇

What’s your Response to Sadiq Khan?

Let’s be clear: the completely false accusation that Israel is committing genocide is modern blood libel. Mamdani is spreading it. The seriousness of a NYC mayor disseminating Jew-hate cannot be underestimated.