Shafi Musaddique

My latest for @guardian is a special one. Europe's only daily Ramadan radio show by a national broadcaster, demystifying Dutch Muslim life. An all-female lineup of presenters hope to break harmful stereotypes after the election victory of the far-right: theguardian.com/world/2024/apr…

Ok. They’ve pissed me off. I’m back to tell you 3 things about ID cards: 1. Migrants ALREADY HAVE biometric ID cards & govts have been trying to digitise them for years w repeated fuckups & failures causing complete chaos - they don’t work, you do not want that system for you.

Incredibly powerful investigation in Dutch newspaper NRC: Seven of the world’s leading genocide scholars — including renowned Holocaust experts — describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocidal. And according to them, nearly all of their peers agree.

Available in the UK and internationally across all good bookshops! dk.com/uk/book/978024…

Officially a published writer with a hardback, beautiful book. Sold in bookshops across the UK, US and Europe. Alongside a collection of writers across Europe, taking you across some of the most scenic roadtrips. (My contribution: Sweden, Finland, Poland and the Baltics).

Sadly, the US Academy, which awarded us an Oscar three weeks ago, declined to publicly support Hamdan Ballal while he was beaten and tortured by Israeli soldiers and settlers. The European Academy voiced support, as did countless other award groups and festivals. Several US Academy members—especially in the documentary branch—pushed for a statement, but it was ultimately refused. We were told that because other Palestinians were beaten up in the settler attack, it could be considered unrelated to the film, so they felt no need to respond. In other words, while Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land (he recalled soldiers joking about the Oscar as they tortured him), he was also targeted for being Palestinian—like countless others every day who are disregarded. This, it seems, gave the Academy an excuse to remain silent when a filmmaker they honored, living under Israeli occupation, needed them the most. It’s not too late to change this stance. Even now, issuing a statement condemning the attack on Hamdan and the Masafer Yatta community would send a meaningful message and serve as a deterrent for the future.

This is Hossam’s team, and we are sharing his final message : “If you’re reading this, it means I have been killed—most likely targeted—by the Israeli occupation forces. When this all began, I was only 21 years old—a college student with dreams like anyone else. For past 18 months, I have dedicated every moment of my life to my people. I documented the horrors in northern Gaza minute by minute, determined to show the world the truth they tried to bury. I slept on pavements, in schools, in tents—anywhere I could. Each day was a battle for survival. I endured hunger for months, yet I never left my people’s side. By God, I fulfilled my duty as a journalist. I risked everything to report the truth, and now, I am finally at rest—something I haven’t known in the past 18 months . I did all this because I believe in the Palestinian cause. I believe this land is ours, and it has been the highest honor of my life to die defending it and serving its people. I ask you now: do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories—until Palestine is free.” — For the last time, Hossam Shabat, from northern Gaza.

NEW: The actions of Trump and Vance in recent weeks highlight something under-appreciated. The American right is now ideologically closer to countries like Russia, Turkey and in some senses China, than to the rest of the west (even the conservative west).

This morning, we won a court order blocking Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from accessing Americans’ private data. Musk and his DOGE employees must destroy all records they've obtained. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no one is above the law.

@bbc5live listening to Joe Hart and co blaming Arsenal for unsettling Ollie Watkins before a game and calling it "unprofessional"... As reported by the Guardian: "Arsenal are thought to have made the approach last week". Not Arsenal's fault if the news came out tonight...

‘We owe it to the thousands of children who have been killed to pause and open ourselves up to the fullness of the little lives that were snatched away.’ Goodbye to the slain children of Gaza. You were loved, you are remembered, you did not deserve it. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Nature belongs to no one and everyone. The British countryside isn’t being 'taken over'—it’s being celebrated. Prayer doesn’t claim land; it leaves it untouched, just like we found it. How about we focus on what unites us, like the beauty of this shared land? 📍Longshaw

Principal tower in Shoreditch - looking at it every night I’d say it’s around 40% occupancy. Prices 600k for a studio up to £9million for 3bed. Massive waste of real estate. Been empty for years. Councils would rather give planning permission to that crap than proper housing.

In a few months when people wonder how Elon Musk developed such an outsize influence over British politics, it’ll be worth noting the contribution of push notifications like this from the national broadcaster.

Bashar al Assad shook hands and had a pretty blonde wife. He also slaughtered half a million Syrians. The debate about handshakes is tedious, ignorant, superficial. Focus on how/whether Sharaa and co apply governance, rule of law and build an inclusive state, handshake or not.

Farage should have been asked about this - he should be forced to own it ⁦@bbclaurak⁩ @euromove

Such pleasure to work with Amnesty for #InternationalMigrantsDay to share this simple, but too often silenced message: How we treat people matters. It always will. Please share :)👇

I actually can’t describe how much of a RELIEF it is that a journalist FINALLY FUCKING SAID THIS. Australian offshoring didn’t “work” it caused massive scale abuse. I hate being so pathetically grateful but no other journalist seems to give a damn about that small detail.

Listening to politicians talk about asylum seekers it sounds like their one & only purpose is to keep people out. Which of you is not too much of a coward to say: it is GOOD that people escape from danger. And it is GOOD that the UK can be a place of sanctuary, actually.

@FaimaBakar @DailyMirror Congratulations! A worthy appointment!

📣 Honoured to announce that after 2.5 years freelancing, I've joined @DailyMirror as head of features for print and digital, overseeing features across news, showbiz, lifestyle, travel & advance content. Feeling very fortunate to still have a job in journalism. Alhamdulillah

In a historic move today, Belgium has been convicted of crimes against humanity for acts committed during colonisation. amnesty.org.uk/press-releases…