4 Wednesday June 8 2022 | the times
News
More than half of British Muslims
believe that their lives have improved
over the past five years, citing more job
opportunities, an increasing number of
public role models and growing accept-
ance in wider society.
In a survey of 1,503 British Muslims
by Savanta ComRes, life was judged
better on ten of 12 measures, with work-
place discrimination the key area that
had grown worse. There are about
3.3 million Muslims in Britain, or 5 per
cent of the population.
More than two thirds (68 per cent)
said that Muslim participation in
society had increased since 2017, com-
pared with 8 per cent who said it had
not. Fifty-eight per cent said there were
more role models, compared with
14 per cent who thought there were
fewer. Among Muslims aged 18 to 24,
69 per cent said there were role models
that “inspire” them.
The survey was commissioned by
Protests have forced cinemas to re-
move from their listings a film that
depicts the early history of Islam.
Hundreds of demonstrators turned
out in Bradford, Bolton, Birmingham
and Sheffield to picket cinemas after
screenings of The Lady of Heaven.
The titular heroine of the film is
Fatima, the daughter of the prophet
Muhammad. She is revered by Shia
Cinemas pull film on history of Islam after protests
Muslims, the second largest denomina-
tion of the religion after Sunni. Critics
accused the film of stoking sectarian
tensions by depicting Fatima as a
martyr while negatively portraying
Aisha, the prophet’s third wife, who is a
foundational figure for Sunnis.
Footage from a protest outside a
Cineworld in Sheffield shows the man-
ager coming out with a megaphone to
meet a group of dozens of protesters.
The manager tells them that the cine-ma will stop showing the film, adding:
“It was not our decision to show this
film, it came from above. We totally
agree with what you’re saying.”
A Cineworld spokesman said the
chain had cancelled showings of The
Lady of Heaven in the UK.
The film, which stars Denise Black,
the former Coronation Street actress,
was written by Yasser Al Habib, a Shia
cleric who was sentenced to ten years in
prison in his native Kuwait for insultingAisha, before seeking asylum in Britain.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP and a
Sunni Muslim, described Al Habib in
2013 as “another branch of hatred”.
In response to a request for com-
ment, Al Habib said: “This film is not
against anyone. It is rather a message of
love and peace. However, it is also cer-
tainly a message of condemnation to
tyranny, extortion and terrorism which
Lady Fatima, peace be upon her, was
the first to stand up against.”Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
Heads will roll Volunteer workers manoeuvre a ship’s figurehead before conservation work on sailing artefacts that will be displayed at Hull Maritime Museum
Wessexes’ visit delayed
The Earl and Countess of Wessex
had to delay the start of an
official trip to Gibraltar when
their British Airways flight
returned to Heathrow after
developing a fault. The couple,
who will be on the peninsula for
three days as part of official
Platinum Jubilee celebrations,
took off four and a half hours
later after the issue was resolved.Pensions gender gap
Women need to work an extra 18
years full-time to save the same
amount of money into their
pensions as men, research
suggests. Women aged 65 will
typically accumulate £69,000 in
private pension wealth, compared
with £205,800 for men, according
to Now: Pensions, a workplace
pension provider, and the
Pensions Policy Institute.Protest was ‘anti-police’
Scotland Yard officers began
making arrests at a vigil for Sarah
Everard, who was murdered by a
serving Met officer, after deciding
it had become “anti-police” with
the potential for violence. “The
mood... shifted from showing
respect to Sarah Everard to an
anti-police protest,” claimed PC
Alexander Davis, in statements
obtained by the Evening Standard.‘Supremacist’ in court
A white supremacist used a
podcast to describe Archie, the
mixed-race son of the Duke and
Duchess of Sussex, as an
“abomination that should be put
down”, Kingston crown court was
told. Christopher Gibbons, 38,
called for Harry to be “judicially
killed for treason” on his show,
called Black Wolf Radio, the jury
heard. The trial continues.Drugs in prison cards
Prisoners at HMP The Mount,
near Bovingdon, Hertfordshire,
will be denied cards from home
after staff discovered that some
were being sprayed with spice, a
synthetic drug that mimics the
effects of marijuana and has been
blamed for violence in jails. In a
letter to families, Paul Crossey,
the deputy governor, said: “Cards
and photographs will only be
accepted from trusted sources...
Other incoming post will [be]
photocopied with the exception
of legal correspondence.”AABDDE E E
EEGH I IMN
NOPRRRRS
SSSSSTUYSolve all five clues using each
letter underneath once only
1 Planet (4)2 Remnants of combustion (5)3 Unusual person or thing (6)4 Force measured in pascals (8)5 Novices (9)Quintagram®No 1336
Solutions MindGames in Times
Cryptic clues page 10 of TimesDANNY LAWSON/PAthree per cent agreed
that “acceptance of
Muslims in the UK” had
increased in the past
five years, compared
with 19 per cent who
said it had wor-
sened. Asked aboutMajority of Muslims in Britain
say their lives are getting better
Hyphen, a website focusing on news,
arts and culture in Europe “through a
Muslim lens”. Its co-founder, the jour-
nalist Burhan Wazir, said that public
figures such as Riz Ahmed, the Oscar-
winning actor; Nadiya Hussain, The
Great British Bake Off winner and cook-
ery writer; Sadiq Khan, the mayor of
London; Noreen Khan, the BBC DJ and
presenter; and Amir Khan, the boxer
who announced his
retirement last
month, were role
models.
Asked whe-
ther businesses
were increasing-
ly creating prod-
ucts and services
tailored for Muslim
consumers, 59 per
cent agreed. Fifty-“life overall”, 53 per cent said that mat-
ters had improved over the past five
years, compared with 19 per cent who
said it felt worse.
Almost half (46 per cent) said that
Islamophobia in the workplace had
grown worse compared with 21 per cent
who said it had reduced. Almost 70 per
cent said they had experienced some
form of racial discrimination in the
workplace, with 44 per cent saying it
came from customers or clients, 42 per
cent at work social events and 40 per
cent while seeking promotion.
Miqdaad Versi, a spokesman for the
Muslim Council of Britain, said it was
“great to see how poll after poll shows
that Muslims really feel part of society,
that this is their home and that they
want to grow and contribute and live
their lives to the fullest”. He added that
some employers are “brilliant and very
attuned” to the cultural or religious
needs of their workers, but said: “Many
just don’t think about these issues.”
The UK should welcome the success of
Muslim integration, page 29Kaya Burgess
Religious Affairs Correspondent
Sources of inspiration
Burhan Wazir, who commissioned
the research, says British Muslim
role models include:
6 Riz Ahmed Oscar-winning actor
6 Nadiya Hussain Baker6 Noreen Khan BBC DJ and
presenter
6 Mohamed Salah and Riyad
Mahrez Premier League footballers
6 Sir Mo Farah Olympic runner
6 Baroness Warsi ex-ministerNadiya Hussain
and Sir Mo
Farah are seen
as role models