Tag: Featured

Two gay London Muslims are launching a street campaign to change attitudes towards homosexuality within the Islamic community. Ejel Khan and Sohail Ahmed will set up a stall outside Whitechapel station today where they will hand out leaflets and talk to the public. With support from activist Peter Tatchell, they hope to give confidence to gay Muslims and persuade mosques to welcome gay worshippers. Mr Ahmed, 23, said the campaign could change lives and encourage young Muslims to be more open about their sexuality. He said: I always feared that Muslims and non-Muslims alike would view me negatively for being both Muslim and gay. I thought that no one would understand me. I wish I had come across something like this during my darkest moments as a young gay Muslim. No one deserves to be alon...

    Big Ben's bongs may fall silent for months or even years as urgent repairs are carried out. Two of Britain's largest newspapers reported Sunday that Parliament's massive clock and the tower that supports it need as much as 40 million pounds ($61.7 million) in repairs - work that will silence the fa-mous bell, Big Ben. The Sunday Times, citing a Westminster source, says the clock is so dilapidated it may grind to a halt. The Mail on Sunday suggested the clock's hands could fall off without urgent action. The Times says repairs to the Elizabeth Tower must begin as soon as possible and can't wait for the 7 billion pound ($10.8 billion) restoration of the entire Palace of Westminster that is scheduled to begin at the end of the decade. Discover the fascinating history of Big B...

    A woman has been arrested in connection with the racist abuse of two Muslim women on a London bus, after video footage of the incident went viral on social media. The 36-year-old woman, who has not been named, was arrested on Friday at her home in Willesden Green, north-west London, on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence on the No 206 bus. The Metropolitan police said she remained in custody at a north London police station as inquiries continued. The incident came days after the government ordered police forces to increase data-gathering on Islamophobic attacks. Video footage taken by a fellow passenger shows a woman, accompanied by a child in a pushchair, shouting abuse at two Muslim women, and continuing after the bus driver comes out of his cab twice...

    A police officer is in hospital after being shot during an anti-gang operation in east London, Scotland Yard said. Shots were fired as the Met’s specialist firearms unit SCO19 was executing an operation at 12.45pm in Scriven Street, Hackney. A man was arrested at the scene. A male police officer was taken to an east London hospital after suffering a gunshot wound; his family have been informed. The Met has not given details of the condition of the officer. Eyewitnesses tweeted that the Haggerston area of Hackney was “going off”, that shots were fired and that police dogs were at the scene.