: Muslims Ponder Their Place in British Society

In the late 1990’s, Britain’s mostly Indo-Pak Muslim population started to reap some fruits of integration into British society after years of bashing from the Salman Rushdie affair (remember Dodi Fayed?). But even before last September, things started to take a turn for the worse, leaving many Muslims wondering about their deteriorating status in that country. The increased economic marginalisation of Muslim communities, most of them poorer than their American counterparts, left many feeling left out and frustrated, culminating in last year’s Bradford riot and other disturbances. In spite of evidence that British Muslims want more integration, fears of terrorism and divided loyalties (not all of which were unfounded) led to cases of outright violence after the September 11th attacks. Further exacerbating the tension, generational differences have left many youth alienated and angry enough to fight alongside al-Qaeda after finding religious extremism in some of England’s mosques. Many argue that Britain’s still distinct class segregation is partly to blame, some of it self-inflicted. Still, many British Muslims find reasons to remain hopeful for strides by themselves and their government to find common ground. uid isPermaLink=”false”>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/?p=1518

<![CDATA[Many are calling it the "feel good” story of Wimbledon – a Muslim and a Jew playing doubles tennis together. Pakistani tennis player Aisamul Haq Qureshi asked Israeli player Amir Hadad if he had a doubles partner when both failed to qualify for singles play. The two hit it off and are competing together, reaching the third round of play on Friday. Despite the history making effort, Qureshi faces sanctions from Pakistan for his decision. “Although he is playing in his private capacity, we officially condemn his playing with an Israeli player,” Pakistan Sports Board director Brigadier Saulat Abbas told the BBC, adding that Qureshi “may face a ban.” Qureshi scoffs at the threat. “I am surprised at the fuss being made,” Qureshi said. “I would like to be talked about for my tennis rather than politics.” Hadad was equally surprised. “I didn’t even think about Qureshi being a Muslim until I found out it was big news in Israel,” Hadad said. “A Jew and a Muslim playing together is not the end of the world. We are all human beings. We have the same blood, the same skin.”

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in London, England.