Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to US Congress. Getty
Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to US Congress. Getty
Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to US Congress. Getty
Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to US Congress. Getty

The far left is trying to hijack Muslim minds in the West


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  • Arabic

The US elections are upon us again. Regardless of whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins, there is a looming danger. This ideological monster is precipitated by the rise of far-left politicians and activists in the West, many of whom come from Muslim backgrounds and exploit that identity for their leftist cause. These individuals and the movement they have helped build seek radical changes in Washington DC, London and Middle Eastern capitals, too.

I have nothing personal against the mainstream left. I was a member of the UK Labour Party, and for three years I was an adviser to former Labour prime minister Tony Blair. I believe societies need a robust political centre-left and centre-right in order to produce the creative friction that propels us forward.

The self-styled 'Squad' is comprised (shown, left to right) of US congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. EPA
The self-styled 'Squad' is comprised (shown, left to right) of US congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. EPA

On the left and right, there are examples of political actors who have leveraged their Muslim backgrounds constructively to foster peaceful co-operation. Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s adviser, Huma Abedeen, a Democrat, was one such person. On the conservative side, American activist Suhail A Khan was a staffer in Republican president George W Bush’s White House. He was instrumental in organising Mr Bush’s visit to a mosque right after the 9/11 attacks. But that centrist, sensible influence is giving way to a new idea of Muslim political engagement, from university campuses to Congressional caucuses.

In the November 2000 US presidential elections, 70 per cent of American Muslims surveyed voted for President George W Bush. Muslim support for President Trump has doubled in 2020 compared with a year ago, but still only 30 per cent of Muslims are willing to vote for him. With 3.5 million Muslims in America, concentrated in swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, they can swing the election result. Little wonder, then, that Mr Biden has been busy campaigning among Muslim Americans.

Prominent Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has endorsed Joe Biden. That Mr Biden said “inshallah” in a televised debate had some activist Muslims in outbreaks of joy online. But he knows that Ms Omar’s support, as a supposed role model for young American Muslims, is not unconditional.

Ms Omar is part of the "Squad” – a group of Congresswomen that also includes Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib, African-American Ayanna Pressley and Latin-American Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (popularly known as “AOC”).

What unites the Squad? These American lawmakers represent three trends.

First, they are an intersection of interests and opinions that seeks to undo the intellectual scaffolding of the modern West and the civilisational alliances it has with its allies in the Middle East.

America is an idea. It is about the free individual, powered by human reason, and citizenship based on the content of one’s character, and not the colour of one’s skin, as Martin Luther King, Jr beautifully encapsulated it. No religion or collectivist interest is paramount above the nation state and its laws.

This settlement that makes America so special is being slowly uprooted by poisonous identity politics, some of which the Squad represent. When they are under fire for their policy positions on the economy or immigration, rather than engage in reasoned debate, they will often hide behind protest politics of being “women of colour”. To question Ilhan Omar is to be accused of “Islamophobia”. Labels trump logic.

Second, the Squad are the tip of an iceberg that has been building among the far left on campuses and communities across America and Europe since 9/11. A strategic alliance between supporters of political Islam has found common cause with the political far left. This intersection has put aside their deep divergences on God, religion, family, homosexuality and the role of women and united their activist base on campuses and community hubs in their shared hatred for Western history and capitalism.

This counterintuitive union, which I have called the “Red-Green Alliance”, is similar to the revolutionary mindset that saw Iranian left-Islamists come together before 1979 with the encouragement of the French philosopher Michel Foucault. In Britain, Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour party leader, had a similar Red-Green alliance last year with a view to winning the general election with 30 Muslim-influenced constituencies – only to lose disastrously.

But when push comes to shove, Islamism and “wokeness” do not mix. Iran’s Islamists killed thousands and exiled leftists. In Gaza, Hamas hanged leftists from tall buildings. Ask Egyptian feminists how the Islamists in Egypt treated them after the 2011 uprisings. Islamists debated in Parliament to reduce the age of consent for marriage for women from 18 to nine.

A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on September 20, 2020. Iran called on the rest of the world to unite against the United States, but the left-most fringe of the US Democratic Party has said little about Tehran's threats against Americans. AFP
A man walks past a mural painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on September 20, 2020. Iran called on the rest of the world to unite against the United States, but the left-most fringe of the US Democratic Party has said little about Tehran's threats against Americans. AFP
When push comes to shove, Islamism and 'wokeness' do not mix

Third, the Red-Green Alliance wants to tear down the alliances of safety and stability that America and the West have supported in the Middle East. Ms Omar has repeatedly attacked Egypt and the Gulf states. Yet the real risks of a Muslim Brotherhood-led sexist, homophobic and anti-Semitic government in Libya or Sudan have not seemed to trouble her and her allies.

Occasionally, however, the mask slips. Ms Omar has been forced to apologise by Nancy Pelosi for using anti-Semitic references in comments about the pro-Israel lobby. Her laughter at Americans’ fears of Al Qaeda caused outrage. Ms Tlaib, for her part, has been an outspoken proponent of boycotts and sanctions against Israel.

No country is perfect, of course. But for a movement that appears to have such a deep interest in the Middle East, why is the Red-Green Alliance silent on Iran’s fascist government? Where is its condemnation of Tehran’s support for terrorism in Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia? What has it said of assassination attempts by the Iranian regime in Europe and Washington? Not a word.

This strategy of putting community before country and ideology before national interests will cause a furious backlash. The Red-Green Alliance will continue to agitate in Washington and to grow on campuses. They will take over the Democratic party as their British comrades did Labour.

Ultimately, they will lose because, as Margaret Thatcher warned, “the facts of life are conservative”. But in the process of their defeat, this movement for identity-based communal politics will do immense damage.

The far right is rising, at least in part, in reaction to the far left. With this comes a higher risk of reactionary Islamophobia, and new challenges for Arab leaders looking to engage with the West. In its revolutionary fervour, the Red-Green Alliance will help the cause of regressive Islamist revolutionaries in the Middle East.

Will Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris confront this psychosis? Former president Barack Obama, concerned by this new political culture, lashed out at the new activism in comments at his foundation’s annual summit last October. “That's enough,” he said. “If all you're doing is casting stones, you are probably not going to get that far.”

Ed Husain is author of The House of Islam: a Global History and a columnist at The National

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:

Toss: India, opted to field

Australia 158-4 (17 ov)

Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24

India 169-7 (17 ov)

Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22

Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
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Essentials

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours. 

The package

Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

'Brazen'

Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

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Dubai World Cup Carnival Card:

6.30pm: Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 1,200m
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7.40pm: Zabeel Turf Listed $175,000 (T) 2,000m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Cape Verdi Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,600m

EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

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The%20Afghan%20connection
%3Cp%3EThe%20influx%20of%20talented%20young%20Afghan%20players%20to%20UAE%20cricket%20could%20have%20a%20big%20impact%20on%20the%20fortunes%20of%20both%20countries.%20Here%20are%20three%20Emirates-based%20players%20to%20watch%20out%20for.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHassan%20Khan%20Eisakhil%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Nabi%20is%20still%20proving%20his%20worth%20at%20the%20top%20level%20but%20there%20is%20another%20reason%20he%20is%20raging%20against%20the%20idea%20of%20retirement.%20If%20the%20allrounder%20hangs%20on%20a%20little%20bit%20longer%2C%20he%20might%20be%20able%20to%20play%20in%20the%20same%20team%20as%20his%20son%2C%20Hassan%20Khan.%20The%20family%20live%20in%20Ajman%20and%20train%20in%20Sharjah.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMasood%20Gurbaz%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20opening%20batter%2C%20who%20trains%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Academy%2C%20is%20another%20player%20who%20is%20a%20part%20of%20a%20famous%20family.%20His%20brother%2C%20Rahmanullah%2C%20was%20an%20IPL%20winner%20with%20Kolkata%20Knight%20Riders%2C%20and%20opens%20the%20batting%20with%20distinction%20for%20Afghanistan.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOmid%20Rahman%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20fast%20bowler%20became%20a%20pioneer%20earlier%20this%20year%20when%20he%20became%20the%20first%20Afghan%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE.%20He%20showed%20great%20promise%20in%20doing%20so%2C%20too%2C%20playing%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20senior%20team%E2%80%99s%20qualification%20for%20the%20Asia%20Cup%20in%20Muscat%20recently.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Notable cricketers and political careers
  • India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
  • Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
  • Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
  • Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
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%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20front-axle%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E218hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh215%2C000%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Killer
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The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper

Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km

The specs

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm

Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km

On sale: now

Price: Dh149,000

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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SPECS
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'My Son'

Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

Three-day coronation

Royal purification

The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.

The crown

Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.

The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.

The audience

On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.

The procession

The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.

Meet the people

On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.

Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

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The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000