The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant triggers a lot of Pakistani anxieties. The group’s activities in northern Iraq crystallize many fears about jihad and revolutionary Islamism. For many Pakistanis, especially if they are liberal elites, ISIS is being seen as the worst-case conclusion to the Taliban-led insurgency. (More…)
Two months ago, I set up an email alert for “UK Ministry of Defense.” Just to keep an eye on what my old chums are up to. I was expecting to have blogs, articles and reports of military activities – drone strikes, deployments, the usual catalog of daily military fuck-ups and the like – appearing in my inbox every day. (More…)
You’ve heard it all before. Print is dead. So commonplace is the refrain, it’s practically meaningless. Particularly given the fact that it’s been continuously restated for nearly two decades, now. Print lives, albeit as one of two mediums, to deliver news. (More…)
In 2011, a group of activists splintered from the BNP amidst the infighting which had erupted under Nick Griffin. They soon registered a new party. First it was called the National People’s Party, but it was to be renamed Britain First. Not immediately pursuant of electoral gains, Britain First contented itself as a street pressure group. (More…)
What makes graffiti endlessly fascinating is the way its implications can broaden and shift over time. Taggers actively comment on the work of those who have gone before them, collectively fashioning a palimpsest that turns the passage of time into spatial relationships. And sometimes world events conspire to “comment” on this commentary, imparting new layers of significance. (More…)
A video by two young men from Cardiff roared through the British media last week. Reyaad Khan and Nasser Muthana talk about how they left the Welsh capital for Syria and Iraq, in order to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and demand that other British Muslims join them. (More…)
At the foot of the White Cliffs of Dover, the slogan ‘No Border. No Control’ greets those taking the elevator up the bluffs, or viewing them from the Channel. With inimitable frankness, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) displays the same such sentiment to the City of London as well, tucked away a little awkwardly on a brick wall along Great Eastern Street. (More…)
Vulnerability is their middle name. Whether they’re washing dishes, or sweeping floors, everything they do communicates helplessness. Blow in their direction, and they’ll fall over. They’re that fragile. Such is the situation of Europe’s migrants. Whether from Afghanistan or Romania, their situation is consistently the same. They come from one crisis, only to be greeted by another. (More…)
You’ve probably heard the news: the U.S. Supreme Court has found in favor of Oklahoma-based retailer Hobby Lobby’s objection to providing its employees with birth control under Obamacare. The case’s breadth has been completely misinterpreted, though. Contrary to the mainstream opinion, it is not about “religious freedom.” (More…)
It was in 1968 that the Conservative politician Enoch Powell gave his notorious speech, in which he claimed that “in fifteen to twenty years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man”. He invoked the language of ‘excreta’ and ‘wide-grinning picaninnies’ in relation to Afro-Caribbean immigrants. (More…)
Sadly, it’s not surprising that my social media feed this week has been dominated by commentary on a video that documents a troubling encounter between a black American and a white police officer. Whatever progress has been made towards a more tolerant United States, the nation still simmers with the legacy of racially charged conflict. Yet since this particular incident involved a professor, (More…)
I have wistful memories of the United Arab Emirates. I spent much of my childhood gazing over the sand dunes, and playing knockoff Super Nintendo games that couldn’t save properly. I felt safe and fulfilled in the paradisaical oasis. (More…)