California Literary Review

Muslim true/false: How much do Americans know about the views and beliefs of Muslims around the world? According to polls, not much. Perhaps not surprising, the majority of Americans (66%) admit to having at least some prejudice against Muslims; one in five say they have “a great deal” of prejudice. Almost half do not believe American Muslims are “loyal” to this country, and one in four do not want a Muslim as a neighbor. [LA Times]

Was it like this for the Irish?: The history of thirty years of conflict in Northern Ireland, as it is being written today, might give the impression of a steady progression towards an inevitable and just conclusion. The new suspect community in this country, Muslims, want to know whether their experience today can be compared with that of the Irish in the last third of the 20th century. [LRB]

‘No more mosques’ says Synod member: A prominent evangelical member of the Church of England’s General Synod has called for a ban on the building of any more mosques in Britain. Alison Ruoff also claimed that Sharia law is inevitable in this country if mosques continue to be built here. [Times]

Convicted Islamist terrorists exploiting growing prison gang culture: Convicted Islamist terrorists are exploiting the growing gang culture in top security jails, fuelling fears that they are trying to radicalise other inmates and foment unrest. [Times]

Forced marriages disgrace Islam: The first step to dealing with honour killings in the UK is to criminalise forced marriage. According to official figures, up to 17,000 women in Britain are subjected to honour-related kidnapping, sexual assault, beatings and murder every year. [New Statesman]

BBC is too scared of Islam, says Ben Elton: Ben Elton has accused the BBC of unjust political correctness by allowing jokes about vicars but vetoing gags about imams. [Times]