LONDON // David Cameron's appointment of Baroness Warsi as Britain's first female Muslim minister has been welcomed as a "great honour" for those who share her faith and an important step in building a multicultural UK.
Lady (Sayeeda Hussain) Warsi, 39, has been made minister without portfolio after being named as the chairwoman of the Conservative Party, senior coalition partners in the UK's new administration. She describes her historic rise from a working-class childhood as a Pakistani millworker's daughter to government office as "terribly humbling". She is not the first Muslim to serve in the UK government. Shahid Malik, to whom she lost when contesting her hometown seat of Dewsbury, west Yorkshire, in the 2005 general election, broke the mould in 2007, when selected by Gordon Brown's Labour government as the under-secretary of state for international development. Last year, Sadiq Khan became the first to enter cabinet, as minister of state for transport.
But the achievement of Lady Warsi, who was named Britain's most influential Muslim woman in the Muslim Women Power List awards for 2009, is especially impressive in a country with a poor record, compared with neighbours, of choosing women for top ministerial positions. Senior British Muslims have given a warm response to her appointment. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The appointment of Baroness Warsi as Britain's first fully fledged Muslim cabinet minister is truly historic and moving for all of us. We are all proud of her and I am sure Baroness Warsi and all other Muslim politicians will be successful role models for all of us."
Shahid Mursaleen, of the UK chapter of Minhaj ul Quran International, a Pakistani-led group campaigning for what it sees as a modern and moderate interpretation of Islam, also welcomed Lady Warsi's inclusion in government. He told Agence France-Presse the election of eight other British Muslims as members of parliament was a true indication of their contribution in the progress and development of Britain.
British media captured pictures of Lady Warsi outside the official prime ministerial residence, 10 Downing Street, following the first meeting of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition cabinet. She complied with photographers' requests by hanging her coat on railings before posing, with a warm smile, in her pink-and-purple shalwar kameez. Previously, she was the first woman to serve in shadow cabinet, as the Conservatives' spokeswoman on community cohesion and social action, and was the youngest member of the upper house, the House of Lords.
Citing with approval the philosophy of Benazir Bhutto, the late Pakistani prime minister - "once you lose the fear of losing, you start winning" - she said she felt honoured and privileged to be regarded as a role model for Muslim women. "My biggest challenge is the constant question I am being asked, both publicly and privately, about my loyalty to Britain, as if somehow being British and Muslim is a conflict," she said.
"And I find it quite ironic when, certainly in my case, both my paternal and maternal grandfathers served in the British army and I say my family were giving loyalty to these shores long before they even arrived here." Sayeeda Warsi was the fourth of five daughters of parents who had emigrated from Gujar Khan. She speaks with a discernible Yorkshire accent and styles herself a "northern, working-class-roots mum".
Her attraction to the right-of-centre principles of the Conservative Party began as her father progressed from his menial early employment in Britain to launch a successful bed-making business. She graduated in law, qualified as a solicitor and joined a legal firm headed by a former Conservative MP. She has also worked in the Pakistani ministry of law, and chairs the Savayra Foundation, a Pakistani charity.
As a member of the upper parliament, she is unelected. At the 2005 general election, she trailed Labour by 4,600 votes in Dewsbury, one of the seats regained by the Conservatives this month. Her first marriage, to a cousin, produced a daughter, Aamna, now 12, "one of my biggest inspirations", but ended in divorce after 17 years. She was remarried, to Iftikhar Azam, in August. Lady Warsi has never been shy of political controversy. She won acclaim for a robust performance against Nick Griffin, the leader of the far-right, anti-immigration British National Party on the BBC television programme Question Time last year.
She also played a part in securing the release in Sudan of Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher prosecuted for naming the teddy bear of one of her pupils Mohammed. The case represented "one of those typical clash-of-civilisation moments", she said. Last November, she was pelted with eggs by Muslim protesters who claimed she "supported the death of Muslims in Afghanistan". Those responsible, she said, were "idiots who did not represent the majority of British Muslims". crandall@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
More from Janine di Giovanni
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
2.30pm: Park Avenue – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Rb Seqondtonone, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
3.05pm: Al Furjan – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Bosphorus, Dane O’Neill, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm: Mina – Rated Condition (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Royal Mews, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Aliyah – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,900m; Winner: Ursa Minor, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
4.50pm: Riviera Beach – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Woodditton, Saif Al Balushi, Ahmad bin Harmash
5.25pm: Riviera – Handicap (TB) Dh2,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Al Madhar, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Creek Views – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Al Salt, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy
AL%20BOOM
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
Teaching in coronavirus times
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
