Islamic

Former Kilmore church being converted into mosque set alight Tuesday amid spate of Islamophobic incidentsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIslamic communities have called out a rise in “anti-Muslim hate” after a church that was being converted into a mosque was allegedly set alight in what Victoria police are treating as a “suspicious” fire.In a statement, Victoria police said the abandoned church in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, was set alight at about 1.50pm on Tuesday, causing “significant damage” to the building. No one was inside at the time and the fire was believed to have been started in the rear of the building. Continue reading...

Shadow justice secretary had called Trafalgar Square event an ‘act of domination’James Cleverly has said he disagrees with his Conservative frontbench colleague Nick Timothy that public Muslim prayers are an act of domination, as another senior Tory called for the party to respect the right to worship.Kemi Badenoch has defended Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, after he posted images of mass prayer at a Ramadan event on Monday evening in Trafalgar Square, calling it “an act of domination” and “straight from the Islamist playbook”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tariq Ahmad says he has raised concerns with party leadership after shadow justice secretary’s remarksThe shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, has been accused by a Conservative peer and former counter-extremism minister of “instilling fear” among Muslims with his comments about public prayer.British Muslims were openly talking about leaving the Conservative party, added Tariq Ahmad, who said he had raised his concerns with the party leadership and expected action to be taken. Continue reading...

Conservative leader says debate not about freedom of religion, but its expression in shared public spaceUK politics live – latest updatesKemi Badenoch has backed her shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, after he claimed that Islamic prayers taking place in public are intimidating and un-British, with Labour saying the Conservatives had embraced the “gutter” politics of prejudice.The row began after Timothy posted images on social media of prayer at a Ramadan event in London’s Trafalgar Square, saying mass prayer in public places was “an act of domination” and “straight from the Islamist playbook”. Continue reading...

Accusations were false and primary cause of major meat supplier ‘panicking’ and cancelling contract, Victorian judge finds on balance of probabilitiesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA halal certifier wrongly accused a rival of being connected to Islamic extremism to secure the business of a major meat supplier, a Victorian court has found.The Victorian county court ruled that the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV) suffered from malicious or injurious falsehood when Midfield Meats cancelled a lucrative halal certification contract primarily because its managing director was told the Australian federal police were investigating the certifier for financing terrorism. Continue reading...