It’s that time of year again – students across the country have gone into hiding while the peril of end-of-year exams looms. The exam period can be extremely daunting and stressful, even for the most conscientious of students.

As a one-time undergraduate student, a current Masters student in Theology, and a Muslim Chaplain at a university, I have both experienced the stress of exams and deadlines, and helped others through it. Islamic theology teaches that solutions for all of life’s problems can be found in Prophetic and Qur’anic teachings – the Qur’an says ‘Indeed, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest’(13:28). I thought I might share some advice from Islamic theology that I’ve received and given on how to cope in difficult times, particularly during exam season.

Beginning with God

The Prophet Muhammad used to start all actions by saying ‘bismillah’ (‘in the name of God’). Saying this before revising, exams and other actions fills those actions with blessings (barakah). The word barakah implies an increase or multiplication, so by starting with bismillah, we actually expand our time allowing it to be filled with more goodness. Saying bismillah also reminds us that everything we do can be an act of worship, a means of becoming closer to God by remembering Him, even in the smallest acts like opening a door or going to sleep.

Patience and Prayer

The Qur’an also states, ‘O you who believe! Seek help through patience and prayer (salah); surely Allah is with the patient’ (2:153). In times of hardship (and ease), one of the most important reminders from this is that the ritual prayer (salah) is not a burden but rather a blessing, a source of strength and a connection with God. Scholars have added that our lives can be divided into ‘patience’ and ‘prayer’, i.e. the times we are not engaged in prayer are times of patience when we are waiting to renew our connection with God through prayer.

Positive Thinking

The Prophet related that God said ‘Indeed I am as My servant thinks of Me”. This encourages us to think positively of God, implying that if we expect God to forgive us, He will do so. Similarly, if we expect Him to help us through exams, He will do so. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)* was the example of optimism. The Prophetic statement ‘Indeed, actions are by their intentions’ implies not only that we are rewarded for our intentions, but that our intentions determine the outcome of our actions as well.

Living in the ‘now’

The Prophet encouraged us to live in the present, rather than worrying too much about the past or the future. ‘Now’ is really the only time we have to act, the only moment which we can really do anything about.

To help us in not dwelling on the past, the Prophet taught: “If any adversity comes to you, do not say: ‘If I had only acted in such-and-such a way, it would have been such-and-such’ but instead, say: “Allah has decreed it, and what He willed, He has done” for verily, ‘if’ opens the way for the work of Satan.” He also encouraged saying ‘There is no might and no power except in Allah’ to reduce anxiety about the past and the future and to ward off depression and hopelessness. Recognising that ultimately God is in control helps put one’s mind and heart at ease in difficult times.

Trusting in God

Just as Moses was commanded to strike the Red Sea with his staff, we should work hard and revise for exams, knowing that ultimately the final outcome is down to God. Moses knew that it was not physically possible to part the sea with his staff except by the power of God. We trust in God knowing that His mercy encompasses everything – He will do what is best for us, even though it might not seem like that at the time.

Supplicating to God

God says in the Qur’an: ‘And when My servant asks you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I answer the supplication of the supplicant when he calls Me’ (2:186). Du’a (supplication) is easy to forget when caught up in the midst of revision but asking God for support, in one’s own words or in phrases recommended by the Prophet, is considered an act of worship in itself. Unlike humans who get tired of nagging, God loves when we ask of Him and the act of asking brings one closer to God.

Invoking blessings on the Prophet Muhammad

For those unfamiliar with the Muslim tradition this practise may seem unusual, but asking for blessings to spent sent upon the Prophet Muhammad is something encouraged by Muslim scholars in times of difficulty and ease. There are numerous Prophetic statements mentioning the rewards and virtues of reciting such salawat (supplications on Prophet Muhammad) such as raising one’s status with God, receiving blessings from God and receiving supplications from God’s creation. It is thought that these salawat are repeated by all of God’s creation from the sea to the trees, and reciting them brings a person in line with their pure, natural state and increases closeness to God.

I hope these words can provide some comfort to those going through difficulties. And I pray for the best results for all those facing exams over the coming weeks. Happy studying!

Image from: http://stagefrightfreedom.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/exams1.gif

Imran Khan was never going to win the elections. For Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) supporters, as ideal as the overblown ‘clean sweep’ would have been, the significance of the party’s achievements in Saturday’s elections cannot be underappreciated. After 17 years of uphill struggle, the emergence of this third force has injected fresh blood in to the country’s severely anaemic political system, which has seen two almost equally corrupt dynasties loot and plunder to spectacular effect over the past three decades.

In what was a record-breaking turnout, the PTI’s 32-odd seats must be seen as a victory for several reasons, not least the fact that only a week ago the party had no official presence in the National Assembly.

Pakistan is a country in which wealthy men enter politics with the aim of becoming yet wealthier: established businessmen, tribal leaders, seasoned criminals – the lot. Indeed it is thought the industrialist Prime Minister-to-be, Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Noon (PML-N), nurtured by General Zia in the 1980s, experienced a 4000% increase in wealth and rapid proliferation of personal assets over his two short lived terms in office. Though with promising beginnings following the fall of dictator General Ayub Khan, over the years the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) hierarchy has behaved yet worse, desecrating the socialism of its manifesto. It is thus remarkable that the comparatively cash-strapped PTI have come this far, the vast majority of their candidates comprising teachers, doctors and lawyers among others, around 40% of whom were unknown until recently.

Erudite journalist and commentator Hassan Nissar, himself an ardent PTI supporter, also sees the plus side; criticising Khan’s party for foolishly hosting lengthy inter-party elections only months ago and thus compromising their election campaign, he feels their being in opposition is a blessing of sorts. With so many newcomers to mainstream politics among their ranks, five years in opposition will enable them to learn the art of statecraft.

The PTI saw its beginnings in 1997, when troubled by what he saw around him, Imran Khan decided to enter the political arena following his construction of the country’s only cancer hospital, which treats the majority of its patients free of charge. In the early years the party wasn’t taken seriously. Mocked by established politicians and journalists alike, it suffered several blows and the ex-cricketer struggled desperately to collect the funds required to keep his dream afloat. It was during this period Imran describes in his 2011 autobiography that his marriage disintegrated, fuelled partly by relentless and often racist press attacks on his then wife Jemima Khan. Among regular citizens, the mantra remained for a long time that he was a good man but would get nowhere in politics.

Ignoring critics however, he persisted, and after a brief and unfortunate period of flirtation with General Musharraf which he now regrets, by 2008, Khan’s movement began to gain traction. This was facilitated significantly by internet campaigns as well as his appearances on private news channels which ironically were able to proliferate rapidly under the aforementioned dictator. After attracting such well-known figures as Jahanghir Tareen, Assed Umer, Javed Hashmi and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, by 2012, the PTI was able to enjoy rallies attended by hundreds of thousands, feats only before seen during the time of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the PPP in the 1970s.

Khan’s party appeals in particular to the educated middle class youth, attracted to his uncompromising positions on a variety of matters and sheer bluntness when taking on a decadent elite. The PTI has stood on a platform supporting anti-corruption, advocating reformation of the national accountability bureau and asking that politicians declare their personal assets among other measures; a fully independent judiciary (traditionally the judiciary acts as a tool of the executive); taxing the wealthy (in Pakistan, only the poorest strata pays tax); healthcare and educational reform; and a general decentralisation of power. Perhaps most significantly, the party advocates withdrawal from widely unpopular western wars, including disallowing the US to conduct extrajudicial killings via unmanned aerial drones in the country’s troubled tribal areas.

It is under the pretext of Khan’s standing on the last point that detractors label him sympathetic towards the Taliban; a bad move, they argue, in a country which experiences terrorist attacks on an almost weekly basis.

Much of this is however disingenuous. In recent years it has become a sign of sophistication in segments of the liberal press to deride the PTI chairman, with many going as far as to dub him ‘Taliban Khan’. The PTI leader argues we cannot bomb fundamentalists into submission. He stresses many of his detractors view effect without cause; in tribal regions forsaken by the central government and completely lacking in infrastructure, every time a drone attack kills civilians under the pretext of tackling extremism, what can be expected other than for affected peoples to join arms with militants? Negotiation is the only way forward.

He has also been criticised for his position on the country’s notorious blasphemy laws, which thus far no politicians seem willing enough to reform, no doubt in fear of being targeted by religious fanatics. He states they shouldn’t be scrapped, but rather, the problem lies in the laws’ interpretation. Equally worrying have been his pronouncements on the much stigmatised Ahmedi community, though Pakistan’s other parties have behaved no differently here, and unlike Khan haven’t had the bravery to call-out the likes of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant outfit responsible for heinous massacres of largely Shia Muslims.

The next five years will prove crucial if the PTI is to succeed in one day running the country. Ahead of it lie several challenges, internal and external.

If the PTI is – as leading PML-N figures have hinted at – to have Imran Khan as leader of the opposition it will have to go about negotiating with smaller parties including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a party with which it has had several spats in the past. Another problem it faces is in Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK), the province in which it won most of its seats, in the form of Maulana Fazl-ur Rahman or ‘Maulvi Diesel’ (thus named following a corruption scandal which saw him strive to illegally secure diesel contracts). Rahman only weeks ago comically declared it ‘haram’ (forbidden) to vote for the PTI, and further added that the former cricketer is in fact working for the ‘Jewish Lobby’. Though Nawaz Sharif declared he will respect the PTI’s mandate in the North West where Khan is to form a provincial government, Rahman will do what he can to make matters as difficult as possible in what is Pakistan’s most difficult to govern province. Indeed whether Khan’s mantra of talking to the Taliban will prove fruitful is also yet to be seen.

Another battle the party faces involves vote rigging, which it maintains it has been a victim of. Protests continue in regions up and down the country, and the PTI is preparing a white paper to present to the Supreme Court in days to come. In Karachi, rigging allegedly came at the hands of the MQM. A party famous for its thuggery and extortion racquets, it is reported to have forced PTI supporters out of polling booths on Saturday, costing the seat of Dr Arif Alvi. Its London based leader Altaf Hussain threatened protestors and journalists with violence just yesterday, and is said to be in a rage following the announcement of a recount on May 19.

In Lahore, PTI supporters feel soon-to-be ruling party bigwig, Saad Rafiq, violated several electoral rules, including physically electioneering at a women’s polling station while votes were being given. He also allegedly had the doors forcibly shut in one particular polling station while party minions stamped and entered fraudulent ballots with police aid. Members of the former ruling party the PPP too have complained of voting irregularities. Prominent lawyer and senior party figure, Aitzaz Ahsan, highlighted the fact that some constituencies experienced a 150% voter turnout – extra votes seemingly materialising out of thin air.

In the final chapter of his autobiography, Imran Khan states:

‘Sadly, more than sixty years after its birth, neither Iqbal nor Jinnah would recognise the country Pakistan has become. Economically ruined by a ruling elite hungry for money and power, it has become the only nuclear armed Islamic country, yet cannot protect its people from near daily bombings and is one of only four countries in the world that have never beaten polio. A succession of military rulers and corrupt civilian governments has been unable to deliver even the most basic services like healthcare and education to the ordinary people in whose name the country was created.’

It is now up to his party, which must be held to scrutiny by its supporters, to demonstrate that it is any different in office. Certainly within the Northern territories, its much-sloganeered ‘Naya (new) Pakistan’ could be within grasp.

Image from: http://dd508hmafkqws.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_node_view/public/Pakistan%20Elections%20Taliban%20threat.jpg

Last month I took the painful decision to leave the National Union of Journalists after more than 10 years membership. My hand was forced when it became clear that the NUJ was supporting the government and not – as it should have done – journalists. It supported the government when, for the first time in over 300 years, politicians were granted power over the press.

This is grim and unsettling. Nevertheless we must appreciate that as journalists in the UK, though the drift is in the wrong direction, we are not endangered like so many foreign colleagues.

Last year, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 1,993 journalists were threatened or physically attacked across the globe, 879 were arrested, 73 fled their country and 88 were killed. The death rate was 33 per cent more than the previous year.

Stationed all over the world, these writers, in their quest to uncover the truth, have paid the ultimate price. History is not only repeating itself, but outdoing itself, and persecutions among these regimes of restriction and censorship are rife.

In Somalia, 18 journalists were killed in 2012 – twice as many than in 2009. Seven were killed in September alone, one of whom was beheaded. In Syria, at least 17 journalists were killed, and a reported six were killed in Mexico.

In Russia on 8 April, five years after being savagely attacked by two assailants bearing metal rods, Mikhail Beketov died. Before the attack – in which he lost a leg, several fingers and his ability to speak – Beketov, who edited the Khimkinskaya Pravda, was threatened over publishing a series of exposés about a road project that was set to destroy parts of a forest. His freedom of speech and mission to voice his concerns left him, quite literally, silenced.

Again, we return to Russia and the omnipotent regime of Putin, where freedom of information is increasingly on the decline. Seven years have passed since the Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism winner, Anna Politkovskaya, was shot and killed in the lift of her block of flats for her investigative work, but even though her death was well-documented (over 3,000 mourners went to her funeral), journalists are no safer in the former Soviet Union. Just last month Russian journalists Andrei Chelnokov and Boris Komarov were violently attacked within a week of each other. Chelnokov suffered from memory loss and was missing for 10 days after being struck on the head by a blunt object on April 1st, and on April 8th, the very same day that Beketov died, Komarov had to be hospitalised after being badly beaten by two masked assailants.

In India, Shehla Masood, a Right to Information blogger and activist, was shot dead in front of her home in Bhopal. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most censored countries, dogged with repressive legislation and online surveillance.

The statistics are frightening, and though time moves on, the story stays the same. Freedom of information, expression and speech are being siphoned away by authorities. And so we must salute our fellow journalists who continue to put their lives on the line for the job, the comrades who refuse to fall into the shadowy abyss of censorship – they are the true heroes of our trade.

Additional research by Alice Audley.

Featured image: Anna Politkovskaya http://en.rian.ru/images/16438/48/164384883.jpg

Is it just me, or is the news gradually becoming a running commentary on the wayward antics of Justin Bieber? Short of hiding down a well, it’s hard to avoid the onslaught of gossip about everyone’s favourite teenage egomaniac. But despite his irritating songs and frankly appalling sense of time-management, there is one thing can be said for Biebs; when it comes to nurturing the delirium of his followers with scandal after tedious scandal, he never fails to deliver. So here’s a quick run-down of the most irrelevant topics we’ve been forced to know about Canada’s finest:

The Outstanding Display of Tact

On visiting the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam, JB made a staggering demonstration of cultural insight by somehow managing to compare the famous Jewish diarist, who was killed in a concentration camp, and his hoards of deranged fans:

“Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber.”

Having added Selena Gomez to his list of conquests, this surely makes the 19-year-old singer an authority on what constitutes a “great girl”. If only Bieber had been around in the 1940s to bestow his musical accomplishments upon the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, the auditory delights of My World 2.0 and Believe would have undoubtedly been exactly what the Frank family needed during their time in hiding. Why worry about the Gestapo when they could have spent their days pondering such captivating lyrics as:

Swag, swag, swag, on you.
Chillin’ by the fire while we eatin’ fondue.
I don’t know about me but I know about you.

As much as the world appreciates his sentiments, it might be best for everyone if he just sticks to singing about swag and teenage heartbreak, and updating his Twitter status.

The #Beastmode Torso

Now that the teen-dream has just about made it through puberty, it seems we have to deal with relentless photographic evidence of it, coming at us like projectile vomit. As if the hair-dos weren’t enough, suddenly all eyes are on his frequently exposed torso, now tastefully furnished with a growing number of dubious tattoos. Apparently, clothes aren’t even necessary in an airport. Yes Justin, you have clearly been hitting the gym. No, you do still look like a child. Put it away love, you’re no Vin Diesel.

The Dedication to His Beliebers

Wherever Bieber goes, he goes there two hours later than he’s meant to. After a less-than-punctual performance at the O2 caused an uproar, JB proved his maturity by doing exactly the same thing in Dubai, twice! If you ask me, when you insist on repeatedly making your paying fans stand in wait for hours, having promised to sing at them, you’re only going to encourage their sense of hysteria. Karma eventually came charging in his direction in the form of a crazed fan, stricken by Bieber-fever induced delirium. Instruments went flying as security tried in vain to prevent JB from coming into contact with a mere mortal, all to a chorus of horrified screams from female fans on the brink of spontaneous combustion.

The Suspicious Cigarette

We’re well aware that Justin Bieber is nothing short of a cultural maverick. He constantly questions society’s boundaries with his heroic actions which have included trying to take a live monkey through customs. So it was no surprise when he once again found himself at the centre of controversy, having been snapped smoking a questionable substance in what is thought to be the first known case of a teenager experimenting with drugs, ever. Following that, everyone started flapping when someone found some cannabis on his tour bus. But let’s not forget that Bieber is one of the most ground-breaking and innovative artists of the 21st century; if marijuana helps him to tap into his creative genius, who are we to judge?

Sadly, no one could have predicted the hash-tag epidemic that would follow. #cut4bieber began trending on Twitter in apparent effort to save Bieber from himself and dissuade him from such damaging habits. Horrifyingly, this involved fans posting pictures of their own self-inflicted injuries on the internet. But as an advocate for the attention-seeking juveniles of the world, and with nearly 39 million followers, at least Twitter provides a way for Justin to reach out to his army of desperate, confused adolescent fans. He is yet to comment, but rest-assured he still keeps everyone updated each time he manages to fit a gym session into his busy schedule. What a hero.

Images from: http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/01KQ1ccD1QM/maxresdefault.jpg  / http://thecount.com/wp-content/uploads/Justin-Bieber-shirtless-in-London-February-2013-640x822.jpg

My marathon journey started in November last year. I received a text asking if I was willing to participate in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon for charity. My natural reaction, coupled with the fact that I was half asleep on a train, was an immediate “no, you must be joking”. I reached home to find my flatmate had received the same text and had actually said yes. Fool. Nutter. Madman. These words were understandably running through my head, and admittedly coming out of my mouth when he asked if I had said yes.The end of April saw an entire city of Boston brought to a standstill. Across the Atlantic, London paid homage in emphatic fashion to those who lost their lives just a week earlier. Half a million people lined the streets of the British capital on a glorious day to show solidarity and support to those running, and undoubtedly to show the world that what happened in Boston would not dampen the spirit of the marathon and human good-will.

However, within 5 minutes I was convinced about taking part. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Most people wait years to get on the London marathon, if at all. Yet here I was being offered a place to run one of the greatest races in the world for a worthy cause coupled with the chance to get in some shape, admittedly. Inevitably I received a mixed reaction upon telling others, ranging from the awkward laugh to the hysterical laugh. “Do you know how much you’ll have to train?”, “You do realise it’s 42km?” “Can you even run?” An emphatic Yes would be my answer to all of the above.

And with that, the training commenced…

Gruelling as it was, being a beginner to road running, it took a while to get past a few kilometres at a time but thanks to the Nike iPhone running app and a new-found sense of discipline the miles were under my belt, albeit in sub-zero conditions most of the time. Having managed to avoid any injury, I was content with my training for the few weeks running up to the big day.

Then Boston happened. 3 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured in what can only be described as a heinous attack on civilian life. For people to be attacked whilst supporting and cheering on their loved ones and fellow citizens, one can only look back in horror and disbelief.

We are all aware of the subsequent lockdown and manhunt that resulted in two brothers being held responsible. However the shockwaves were not only felt in Boston. Across the world, people watched in horror as pictures and reports streamed out of the chaos near the finish line. One of the world’s great races had been reduced to a wreck and the effect of this definitely had some— including me— questioning whether the London race would actually be held only a week later.

Looking back, I don’t think the thought of pulling out ever came across my mind. I am sure I echo the thoughts of the 36000 other marathoners who lined the streets of Blackheath, Greenwich on Sunday morning when I say that the Boston attacks were in our hearts, firing us up to complete the arduous challenge and rise to the occasion to show the world the true marathon spirit. Adorning black ribbons, a 30 second silence before the starting whistle was observed and standing in a sea of people from all walks of life, one could hear a pin drop.

The run itself was tough, as expected. My aim of running the distance without stopping was only possible because of the unwavering support of the British public, who truly astonished me. The entire stretch of the course was lined with people, cheering, offering drinks and creating a truly remarkable atmosphere. It was London at its finest.

26.2 miles and close to 4 hours of running through an unusually warm day, I approached the finish line outside Buckingham palace exhausted. As I took in the roar of the crowd one last time, the thought of Boston passed through my mind. I saw a young child waving at me from the mall, one of hundreds. He stuck out his hand and gave me a hi-5 as I ran passed. 7 days earlier an eight year old boy had died whilst supporting his own father on the finishing stretch. One can only sympathise with those who lost their lives so callously.

Undoubtedly next year’s Boston marathon will be an emotional occasion. However, the future of marathons is secure. I do not foresee any shortfall of people participating or attending such fantastic events. If anything, London showed that the spirit of the marathon, all the hard work and fundraising that goes with it, will only flourish in the face of adversity. It truly is human good will at its finest, sacrificing serious physical and emotional pain to help others.

As Steve Cram, a former British athlete, aptly put it at the start of this year’s marathon; “If you’re going to mess with a people’s spirit, marathoners are not the one.”

Photo Credits: Wasim Mir - "More than 30,000 runners lined the start of the London Marathon in Greenwich to observe a 30 second silence for those in Boston."

The turn of the millennium has signalled a new era for Islam and its relationship with the western world. Whereas the IRA and Irish republicanism were the focus of British anti-terror efforts in the latter half of the twentieth century, and communism and the Soviets were the great threat that engaged America’s attentions, in the twenty-first century terrorism has a new face: Islamism.

It is no surprise then that 9/11 has also meant a new era for the Uyghur community of Xinjiang Province, North-Western China; a Muslim Turkic minority, numbering some eight to ten million. While the Uyghurs have been struggling against an overt policy of monoculturalism, monolingualism and assimilation that the People’s Republic of China has been pursuing in earnest since the 1970s, it is only through a context of Islamic terrorism that the hitherto unknown Uyghurs have become a noteworthy topic of discussion in European and American politics.

The events of September 11th and the political atmosphere it created allowed the Chinese state to label so-called Uyghur nationalists as Islamists. As Arienne M. Dwyer asserts in The Xinjiang Conflict: Uyghur Identity, Language Policy, and Political Discourse, “The United States through its so-called ‘war on terror(ism)’ allowed itself to be misled by post-9/11 Chinese media reports on the relationship between the Uyghurs and Islamic militants. In so doing, the United States has conflated Uyghur nationalism with ‘terrorism’, thus justifying US-Chinese government collaboration in the Chinese Communist Party’s project to suppress its own minorities”.

In short, the dominant discourse of terrorism in western politics over the last 13 years has given China the opportunity to make use of the now well-established, readily available and ultimately convenient label of “Islamic terror” in its attempts to demonise the Uyghur population in the international sphere, while it continues its attack on them domestically.

After the latest clashes between civilians and the Chinese authorities on 23 April in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, leaving 21 people dead (with 16 of those said to be Uyghurs), foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying accused the Uyghurs involved of plotting to “carry out violent terrorist activities”.

Furthermore, according to a report by Radio Free Asia, “Chinese officials and state media said the violence erupted after community officials on patrol were attacked by Uyghur ‘terrorists’ armed with knives at a house in Siriqbuya (in Chinese, Selibuya) township”.

The Uyghur American Association gives a very different account of the incident, reporting that, “A resident of the region who reached US broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported that the incidents arose when three people connected to paramilitary forces called ‘Social Workers’ and the local government tried to forcefully remove the veil from a female member of the household while searching the house. The massacre occurred when the dispute between the members of the household and the militia turned into a confrontation, and the troops tied to the Chinese occupation forces fired rounds at the home and later set it on fire”.

The label of “terrorism” is also being used by state media in order to turn its own public opinion against the Uyghur community. It is interesting to note that a reported attack on a Uyghur student by his Han Chinese classmates at the Beijing-based Central University for Nationalities, directly followed the violence in Kashgar. Mehmetjan Ali was left hospitalised after being attacked by three classmates in his dormitory. Although he was said to be in a stable condition it does beg the question, why was Mehmetjan Ali discriminated against by his classmates? And what does this say about the kind of information the Chinese public is receiving about the Uyghur community?

Adil Abbas, a Uyghur activist and vice-president of the Uyghur Canadian Society claims that, “It is obvious that the dominant force of hate crimes such as what happened in the Central University for Nationalities is the Chinese government itself because their state-sponsored media always lies and slanders about the Uyghurs… They heavily painted Uyghurs with terrorism charges to cover government violence against the Uyghurs, increasing hatred against the Uyghurs”.

The lack of transparency surrounding the Chinese state and its relationship with its ethnic minorities makes it very difficult to report accurately on what is happening to the Uyghurs in China. Following the Urumqi riots of 2009, Chinese officials refused to allow independent investigators into East Turkestan. Similarly, Beijing dismissed calls from the US for an independent investigation into the events in Kashgar this April, claiming that this was evidence of an American “double standard”. Therefore, Chinese state media can effectively say anything about the Uyghurs and there is very little opportunity for independent organisations or representatives to investigate their claims.

The context of the “war on terror” has proved a useful smokescreen behind which the People’s Republic of China can abuse the rights of its Muslim minorities. Despite the fact that the US State Department released a report claiming “severe official repression of the freedoms of speech, religion, association, and harsh restrictions on the movement” of Uyghurs by the Chinese government, America’s own campaign against Islamic terror makes it difficult for them to criticise China’s efforts to tackle an alleged terrorist threat within their own borders.

The reality, of course, is that for decades the Uyghur community has been struggling against Chinese state oppression while the world has done little more than look on. Throughout these struggles the Uyghur cause has been labelled many things by the People’s Republic, including “nationalism” and “separatism”. The label of “Islamic terrorism” is just the latest justification with which the state can continue to abuse the rights and freedoms of an important segment of their population. Certain important questions, however, remain: if it is the threat of Islamic fanaticism that China is worried about why does it continue to pursue a campaign of marginalisation of the Uyghur language?; why have publications exploring ancient Uyghur history and literature been banned?; and why are the Hui Muslims who have been assimilated linguistically and culturally, and who are ethnically closer to the Han Chinese than the Uyghurs, not been subject to the same scrutiny and discrimination despite the fact that many of the Huis are devout Sunni Muslims?

The Uyghurs have been native inhabitants of what is now North-Western China for over 4000 years and have, for most of this time, lived in relative peace with their Han neighbours. It is only through the Chinese state policy of the latter twentieth and twenty-first century that the harmony has been so severely disrupted.

The Uyghurs are a diverse group of people with varying degrees of religious adherence. This is not to claim that there are no strands of Islamic fanaticism that run through the Uyghur community. As with every community, they have their extremists. Also, as China asserts, certain individuals of the Uyghur community may have had connections with Al-Qaeda (who seem to have a knack for trying to hijack any cause that involves Muslims). However, the accusation that the Uyghur community as a whole, or even as a significant minority, poses some kind of Islamic terror threat to the security of China – as well as the use of the label ‘terrorist’ to distract people from the concerted abuse of Uyghur freedoms by the state – is utterly unacceptable.

Image from: http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/10/20/china-detainees-disappeared-after-xinjiang-protests

When you think of Bradford, what probably doesn’t come to mind is that it is the world’s first City of Film, an honour bestowed on the West Yorkshire city by UNESCO for its accomplished film heritage.

Bradford also lays claim to one of the most anticipated events on the UK film calendar – The Bradford International Film Festival. April saw the 19^th instalment of the annual event and its second year in partnership with Virgin Media.

Over the years the festival has brought in special guest speakers, notable industry members and screened a special selection of hundreds of new and classic films.

Festival Co-Directors Tom Vincent and Neil Young commented in their invite to the festival this year: “Much of ‘modern’ culture, indeed much of the modern world, was taking shape in 1913 – and we hope the films and events which the BIFF team have assembled over the past year provide a multi-faceted reflection of that world: geographically and artistically eclectic, with one foot in the past and one striding into the future.”

'The Look of Love'

As 2013 marks the centenary of Indian cinema, the host venue, The National Media Museum, made a special investment in exhibiting classic Indian film posters and including distinguished Indian films within its screenings.

This included rare screenings of the only twelve minutes that are known to remain of the first Indian feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913) and the recently restored Kalpana (1948) which is revered in the history of Indian filmmaking for its innovative dance sequences.

There were a good handful of Indian classics shown including the Oscar short-listed Mother India (1957), which stars the luminous Nargis as a mother fighting for peasant’s land rights and can never to be overlooked. Also shown was Mughal-E-Azam (1960), an epic in the true sense of the word it was the most expensive Indian film of its era. A costume drama released when Technicolor film was gaining momentum, it became the most successful film of the time until Sholay took the mantel 15 years later becoming a true phenomenon.

The contemporary classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) also featured. Megastar Shah Rukh Khan leads the genre-hopping ‘masala movie’ which is without doubt a modern block buster having played continuously at the Maratha Mandir cinema in Mumbai for an incredible 900 weeks.

Other highlights from Indian cinema included the UK premieres of The Sound of Old Rooms (2011), a documentary on the life of struggling Kolkata poet, Sarthak Roychowdhury, and Mumbai’s King (2012), an engaging debut from writer-director Manjeet Singh exposing what goes on behind the scenes of India’s world-famous film industry.

In the spirit of championing diverse talent, the festival celebrated film efforts from the local, national and foreign industries. The event opened with The Look of Love from one of England’s finest directors Michael Winterbottom. Sir Tom Courtenay was honoured for his contribution to the film industry (co-incidentally, his film Billy Liar was filmed in Bradford 50 years ago) and championed the overlooked Russian filmmaker, Alexy Balabanov, by screening three of his controversial films including his black-comedy Cargo 200 (2007).

'The Sound of Old Rooms'

The event also served up the UK premiere of Cursed be the Phosphate (2012) from up and coming Tunisian director Sami Tlili. Interestingly, his documentary covers a harrowing period for striking miners in 2008 – two years before the uprising of the Arab spring made an inkling of news.

Another notable documentary in terms of variety and depth was Beware of Mr Baker. With appearances from Femi Kuti, Eric Clapton, John Lydon and Lars Ulrich, it follows extraordinary percussionist Ginger Baker’s musical journey from his jazz-obsessed origins to his time with Cream in the ‘60s, and then to his years in Africa.

The festival’s Twitter feed has been inundated with compliments for it being chock-full of mid-length films and shorts which gave exposure to wonderful directors in the genre such as Slovenian director Olmo Omerzu. Many of these films were an hour in length and were screened together in succession for a fun movie-buff experience.

The festival closed with the hotly anticipated The Reluctant Fundamentalist, an adaptation of Mohsin Hamed’s 2007 bestselling novel, directed by Mira Nair and starring the excellent Riz Ahmed of Four Lions fame.

There was such a fantastic selection on offer and overall the festival, like its resident city, continues to celebrate a rich history in a diversity of cultures year after year.

Featured Image: Kalpana (1948) 

The latest tragedy that hit Bangladesh’s ready-made garments industry on 24th April has shocked the international community. Scores have died, many more are missing. The news has been given extensive coverage by major TV channels and in print media across the world, contrary to the generally indifferent media coverage of such calamities in poorer countries. The misfortune and substandard treatment of impoverished factory workers in Bangladesh has been laid bare.

The recent human catastrophe caused by the collapse of an eight-storey building that housed five garment factories ‘is not the first incident of its kind in Bangladesh.’ Back in 2005, a similar building collapse left 64 workers dead. According to the BBC, the factory owner was then arrested, but did not serve any time in prison; since then, ‘there have been fires, stampedes and other incidents at various garment factories, causing hundreds of deaths.’ The last major disaster happened on 24 November 2012 in which 117 workers perished in a fire at Tazreen Fashion factory in Ashulia, near the capital Dhaka.

With over 370 dead, this time it has generated wider debate on the plight of workers, health and safety concerns in work places and exploitation of people in the developing world. For millions of Bangladeshi citizens this has again highlighted the deep-rooted political and economic corruption of the ruling class and the loss of moral compass of the government leaders. Very few in Bangladesh believe that their government will bring any meaningful change to the miserable condition of millions of factory workers. According to The Daily Telegraph, the Bangladeshi government has refused outside help for fear of ‘damage to national pride’.

The owner of the Rana Plaza that housed the factories was on the run since the collapse; to jubilation across the country, Sohel Rana has now been arrested near the Indian border by the troops from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Bangladeshi media widely reported the news that Mr. Rana pressured the workers to go into work even after police had ordered an evacuation of the building after cracks appeared the previous day; the factory management simply ignored the order. Two other factory bosses and two engineers have recently been arrested. But given the past inaction of the government, people are not confident whether the owners will be taken to task, the health and safety of workers will be guaranteed or that work ethics will be changed.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world; ready-made garments made up 77.1% of Bangladeshi exports in 2009-10 and the textile industry accounted for 17% of its gross domestic product (GDP). More than three-quarters of total exports come to Europe and the US. The value of exports increased dramatically over the past 30 years; in 2012 it was worth almost $20bn.

But the garment industry in Bangladesh has been marred with triple injustices since day one: dismal low pay, little or no employee rights and dangerous working conditions in factories. The complaints about this ‘slave labour’ in the 21st century have fallen on deaf ears; political arrogance and economic corruption of successive Bangladesh governments and an indifference of the western companies that happily milk the profits have worsened the situation.

Sohel Rana is a local politician connected to the ruling Awami League and, like other political party cadres, was used to exert intimidating influence on the employees and local people. This was the main reason why so many workers entered the ill-fated building even after knowing its condition.

Party hooliganism is not uncommon in Bangladesh, but this has multiplied in worrying proportions during the tenure of the current government. Some factory owners who are political cadres of the ruling party are known to use their employees as political pawns. For some it is the way of moving into the world of influence and affluence within the span of the government. Most of these ‘hooligan’ politicians forget their ordinary roots and indulge in vulgar display of wealth and power.

The irony is some of these party cadres even spend their illegally earned wealth to publicly feed poor people or donate to charity causes to display their new status. People around them may detest their ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ type double standard, but are powerless to face them as the law and order forces are either soft on them or complicit in their illegal earnings.

Bangladesh’s factory workers produce high quality, but low cost, clothes for western consumers through companies like British high street retail chains Primark and Matalan. This raises a serious question about the ethics and standard of ethical trading of these companies. It is claimed that last year several retailers, including Wal-Mart, the Gap and H&M, rejected proposals aimed at improving safety following the November 24 factory fire.

A protest was organised recently in front of Primark’s store in Oxford Street to send a clear message to Primark that the deaths in the Bangladesh factory building collapse were not an accident – ‘they were entirely preventable deaths.’ They demanded compensation for the victims and want these companies to end “appallingly unsafe factory conditions” in Bangladesh. Graciela Romero, of British Charity War On Want, says firms who use Bangladeshi products must “safeguard the life of these workers”.

Primark apparently has accepted its share of responsibility and said “it is providing assistance in the region, and will take further steps in due course.” It is important these companies stick to their promises and the international community takes some moral burden on alleviating the plight of Bangladeshi factory workers.

Image from: http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/death-toll-now-361/ and EPA/Abir Abdullah

This week saw the 449^th birthday of William Shakespeare, the English playwright celebrated the world over. Four and a half centuries since his birth, the writer of 38 plays and 154 sonnets continues to enjoy popularity on a scale matched by few. His works enjoy prominence and performance from stage to screen, classroom to living room.

While Shakespeare has been hailed as the greatest English playwright, his writings have enjoyed equal popularity on the global stage. Many international companies have transported Shakespeare abroad, blending the works with each region’s own unique cultural nuances, interpretations and flavours. The playwright has gained a global currency, one characterised by mutual exchange; Shakespeare does not speak to the world, but with the world, and the ensuing conversation proves a bewitching one.

In celebration of Shakespeare’s works, here is a selection of some of his best quotes from some of his most prominent plays, coupled with images of the diverse global productions these pieces have enjoyed.

A Taiwanese production of The Merchant of Venice www.bardfilm.blogspot.com

The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV Scene I

If you prick us, do we not bleed?
if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison
us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not
revenge?

The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene I

A Kuwaiti production of Twelfth Night www.globalshakespeares.mit.edu

be not afraid of greatness: some
are born great, some achieve greatness, and some
have greatness thrust upon ‘em.

Twelfth Night, Act II Scene V

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it

Twelfth Night, Act I Scene I

Hamlet by the South African Baxter Theatre Centre www.guardian.co.uk/stage

This above all- to thine own self be true

Hamlet, Act I Scene III

To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die- to sleep.
To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

Hamlet, Act III Scene I

As You Like It by the Georgian Marjanishvili Company as part of the 2012 Globe to Globe www.guardian.co.uk/stage

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

As You Like It, Act II Scene VII

One point four billion people are living in extreme poverty. That means they are currently living on less than £1 a day. To put that in context, that is over 20 times the population of the UK. Can you imagine living on that little? Well that is what we’re challenging you to do by participating in Live Below The Line this April.

From 29 April to 3 May, along with thousands of others, I am taking on the challenge of spending no more than £1 a day on food and drink. I find it astounding to think that such a large proportion of the global population is still living under such harsh conditions and hope the challenge will be an opportunity for me to reflect on the root causes of poverty which see millions go hungry every day.

For many individuals living below the poverty line, limited school infrastructure impacts their ability to go to school. This then has a direct effect on their future employment opportunities. Instead of school, they may have to work to earn money to support their families. Farming and other manual labour work requires a lot of energy which one would struggle with if they hadn’t had enough to eat.  About 824 million people go hungry or have an unstable food supply; 500 million of them suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Another challenge for below poverty communities is that a lot of time may be spent in search of a clean water supply. Worldwide, 1.6 billion people have no access to drinking water. Two hundred million hours are spent each day collecting clean water mainly by women and children. This is time that could be spent more productively in working to earn money or better, studying at school.

Access to good quality healthcare is also be a real issue. Eighty per cent of those living in a developing country rely on local healthcare in the form of ill equipped clinics and local traditional healers. Some countries have as little as one doctor per 6,000 people, compared with one doctor per 350 people in industrialised countries like the UK. This poor access to health care services accounts for many preventable deaths.

It is important to understand that external forces have played a large role in the underdevelopment of countries. With an increasingly globalised world, global decisions, policies and practices have worldwide consequences. For example, developing countries have been made to open up their markets to global competition, better known as trade liberalisation. To attract investment they compete with one another by reducing wages and providing cheaper resources. This means the standard of living for the population becomes increasingly worse. This, coupled with corruption in companies and governments, means that it is difficult for a country to progress.

The solutions to poverty are far from simple. One of the greatest issues is simply a lack of awareness. Some people truly do not understand the state the world is in, the scale of suffering that occurs on a daily basis, and find it difficult to relate to. The Live Below the Line campaign is a great way of personally connecting, giving us a glimpse of what it would be like to live off £1 a day and an opportunity to raise awareness among friends and family.

While we may think it’s going to be tough to live on £1 a day for five days, those living in extreme poverty struggle with this amount daily for everything: food, travel, clothes, healthcare and other expenses.  I hope that participating in Live Below The Line will be the start of a commitment by me and the thousands of other participants to work towards a world where everyone has enough to eat and people can rise above the poverty line.

Are you ready to Live Below The Line? Sign up here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/uk-made.

Image from: http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/02/waiting-to-be-registered-3/