SABS MSP Briefing at the Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society (SABS) organised a drop-in at the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by Bill Kidd MSP, for members of the Scottish Parliament to meet with SABS, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), the St Andrew’s Sporting Club (with British bantamweight boxing champion Kash Farooq, Ambassador for SABS’ Blood Donation Campaign), the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the Edinburgh City Football Club and the Scottish Ambulance Service on Wednesday 12th December.

Bahrain: No Free Elections in Current Environment

(Beirut) – The upcoming parliamentary elections in Bahrain, scheduled for November 24, 2018, are occurring in a repressive political environment that is not conducive to free elections, Human Rights Watch said today. Bahrain’s allies should encourage the Bahraini government to take all the necessary steps to reform laws undermining freedom of expression and assembly and to release detained opposition figures.

For more on the US Senate vote and the Bahrain elections, see ADHRB Weekly 278, accessible here.

BAHRAIN: Formula One Expresses “Concerns” for Imprisoned Female Activist Critical of The Grand Prix

15 November 2018 – On 12 November, Formula One expressed concern for Bahraini female political prisoner, Najah Yusuf, whose conviction involves criticising the Bahraini government and the Bahrain Grand Prix 2017. In June 2018, Najah was found guilty for, according to the Public Prosecution, promoting and encouraging people “to overthrow the political and social systems”….

For BIRD Weekly 213, click here.

O Scharbrodt, ‘A minority within a minority?: the complexity and multilocality of transnational Twelver Shia networks in Britain’, Contemporary Islam (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-018-0431-0

The launch event of ‘Imam Hussain Day’ in Scotland

The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, with the support of Interfaith Scotland and the United Nations House Scotland, launched Imam Hussain Day in Scotland on 12th October 2018. This will be an annual day in the national calendar to remember and celebrate the life, achievements, and influential teachings of Imam Hussain; a role model to over 1 Billion Muslims worldwide.

Fragmented realities: the ‘sectarianisation’ of space among Iraqi Shias in London

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Integration, class and secularism: the marginalization of Shia identities in the UK Iranian diaspora

Despite ongoing debates about the nature and role of multiculturalism in the UK, the idea of integration remains significant in British immigration policies and community relations, and it orients…

Nearly 170 charged with forming ‘Bahrain Hizballah’

Analysts have expressed scepticism about previous Bahraini allegations of Iranian and Hizballah involvement. Bahrain’s attorney general charged nearly 170 people on Tuesday with forming a Shia “terrorist organisation” named for Lebanon’s famed militant group Hizballah.

SABS Christian-Muslim Eid al Adha Dinner 2018

The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society was pleased to have held a fellowship Eid Dinner for the 4th consecutive year in commemoration of Eid al-Adha, a rememberance of the Prophet Abraham and a feast for Muslims at the end of the Hajj. It is the etiquette of the Holy Prophet [s] and his Noble Family [a] to build neighbourly relations.

Saudi-UK media tie-up: Targeting the non-Arabic-speaking Middle East

Long satisfied to attempt to dominate pan-Arab media and battle it out with Qatar’s state-owned Al Jazeera television network, Saudi Arabia has now set its hegemonic sights on influencing the media landscape of the non-Arabic speaking greater Middle East.