I love my job… but I find myself awkwardly straddling the divide between British Islam and the British media. I get pretty exhausted of having to constantly endure a barrage of lazy stereotypes, inflammatory headlines, disparaging generalisations, and often inaccurate and baseless stories. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
From a moral point of view, it is wrong… to smear or stereotype minority communities, to pretend or give credence to the idea that the actions of a minority within a community are somehow representative or the fault of the majority of members of that community. That is the very definition of bigotry. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
Even as evidence mounts that immigration is bolstering the British economy, the political consensus seems to be that bashing immigration boosts electoral fortunes. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
Anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
I will call out someone if he’s Islamophobic, and I will also call out anti-Semitism. It’s immoral to call out one and not the other. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
I think that the anti-Semitic problem in the British Muslim community is worse than among the community at large. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
I’m the first person to say don’t equate between terrorism and Islam. But at the same time, I’m not going to pretend that there isn’t a threat from some British Muslim homegrown extremists. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
Millions of ordinary Americans may suffer from a toxic combination of ignorance and amnesia, but the victims of U.S. coups, invasions, and bombing campaigns across the globe tend not to. Ask the Iraqis or the Iranians, ask the Cubans or the Chileans. And, yes, ask the North Koreans. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
How many Americans, for example, are aware of the fact that U.S. planes dropped on the Korean peninsula more bombs – 635,000 tons – and napalm – 32,557 tons – than during the entire Pacific campaign against the Japanese during World War II? Mehdi Hasan Read Quote
If you’re gay, that doesn’t mean I want to discriminate against you, belittle or bully you, abuse or offend you. Not at all. I don’t want to go back to the dark days of criminalisation and the imprisonment of gay men and women; of Section 28 and legalised discrimination. Mehdi Hasan Read Quote