Posts Tagged ‘Deeyah Khan’

Wounds this deep: Extremism and exclusion

Deeyah Khan June, 2015 Each of us handles dozens of interactions every day: buying a bus ticket, acknowledging an acquaintance in the street, drinking coffee with friends, a quick hello to a neighbour – and these have emotional and psychological effects. A well-meant compliment from a stranger can put a spring in your step; but an unwelcome and aggressive sexual approach can leave you grinding your teeth for hours. In…

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Leaving home for Hell Square

Deeyah Khan, June 2015   At the beginning of this year, the al-Khansa Brigade uploaded its Arabic language manual for the women of the Islamic State. The 10,000 word document advises that Muslim girls are married between the ages of nine and seventeen, cover their bodies and faces, and live in seclusion. Meanwhile, women and girls as young as ten from Iraq’s minority sects have been enslaved and raped –…

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We Must Tackle Extremism Without Compromising Freedom of Speech

Deeyah Khan, June 2015 The Queen announced last week that her government will be taking measures “to promote social cohesion and protect people by tackling extremism”. These measures, as outlined by home secretary Theresa May, may include the ability to vet television programmes before they are broadcast. Like Theresa May, I regularly find myself infuriated by the rantings of Anjem Choudary and other hate preachers. Every time Choudary and his ilk are…

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JIHAD AND THE ROAD BACK

Deeyah Khan May 2015 JIHAD AND THE ROAD BACK As a young South Asian woman, growing up in Norway, I felt the difficulties of being between two cultures. The door of my house opened into a world quite different from that of my schoolmates, and I often felt awkward, suspended between the world of my parents, and that of my friends. I used this dual culture to forge my own…

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