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Buce

Buce

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

The forgotten Muslim heroes who fought for Britain in the trenches:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/forgotten-muslim-heroes-fought-for-britain-first-world-war

 

A biting wind whips across the rolling countryside, cutting through the crowd gathered on a hillside overlooking Notre Dame de Lorette, France’s national war cemetery. Huddled amid what remains of the 440 miles of trenches that made up the western front, they shudder out of shock and surprise rather than cold while listening about life for the men who endured the horrors of the first world war.

More than 1.5 billion artillery shells fell in this part of northern France, close to the town of Arras, prompting soldiers to nickname the farmland in which they fought “the hell of the north”, or poignantly, “the cemetery”. It is the experiences of some of their Muslim comrades, however, that particularly capture the crowd’s imagination, drawing looks of disbelief at a history that has never been fully told.

Having travelled thousands of miles from hotter climes, these soldiers went into the trenches with imams whose duties included leading group prayers and reciting the call to prayer into the ears of the dying. Special orders had been issued on when and how to pray. “If the war is intense and the Muslim does not have a moment of peace to fulfil his prayer he can just move his head and torso,” said a declaration from French high command. “In the case where there are moments of calm, one can complete the prayer together.”

Hot halal food was routinely served, prepared by cooks who had accompanied the men. When medical supplies ran out, some of these soldiers used traditional herbal medicines from their homelands to help treat injured comrades, whatever their faith. Others taught their folk songs to those serving alongside them, whatever their language, in between the brutal onslaughts of trench warfare.

The evidence of their sacrifice is on display in a corner of Notre Dame de Lorette, which contains the graves of 40,000 French soldiers who fell on the western front. The Muslim headstones are distinguishable not just by their Islamic inscriptions but because they also tilt eastwards towards Mecca. They were designed by the French painter Etienne Dinet, who converted to Islam in 1908.

The crowd of mainly British Muslims, who were at Notre Dame de Lorette before this weekend’s Armistice Day commemorations, ended their visit by praying over the graves of the north African soldiers who shared their faith. Their visit formed part of a groundbreaking project by an organisation called the Forgotten Heroes 14-19 Foundation, which has, for the first time, documented the contribution of all the Muslims who fought and worked for the allied forces during the first world war. The 19 in its name refers to the conflict that was caused by the French military presence in Syria in 1919 after the first world war ended.

 

Researchers have spent the past six years delving into military, diplomatic and private archives, including diaries and letters, across 19 countries, accessing more than 850,000 documents in French, English, Farsi, Urdu, Russian, German and Arabic, as well as hundreds of images. They estimate that 2.5 million Muslims contributed to the allied cause either as soldiers or labourers, the first time such a figure has been established.

The foundation was founded by a Belgian, Luc Ferrier, 53, after he came across his great-grandfather’s first world war diaries in his attic in which he wrote extensively about the “Mohammedans” he encountered in the trenches. Gripped by fascination, Ferrier delved into the history books to learn more, but found that there was little information available.

He began conducting his own research, initially through Belgian and French war records, and realised there was a bigger story to tell. In fact, he became so engrossed by it that he gave up his job in the aeronautical industry to establish the foundation in 2012 and devote his life to documenting the role of all Muslims involved in the war.

 

They were drawn from across Africa, India, the far and middle east, Russia and even America, but it is their heart-touching stories of living and dying alongside European Christian or Jewish counterparts that have resonated the most with Ferrier and his team. Knowing this history, they say, could help overcome some problems in the Europe of today.

Documents uncovered have shown instances of imams, priests and rabbis learning each other’s burial ceremonies and prayers to lay the dead to rest on the battlefront. There are reports of Muslim soldiers sharing food with hungry civilians, while French, Belgian and Canadian officers expressed surprise at their humane treatment of German prisoners of war. When asked to explain their conduct, the soldiers quoted the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad on how enemy combatants should be dealt with.

 
Ferrier, who is not a Muslim, said: “The far-right and Islamophobia is on the rise throughout Europe. Our project is about making all people across the continent understand that we have a shared history. This is not about politics or colonialism. We are simply presenting the facts because this is a story that the whole of Europe needs to know.

“Muslims are portrayed as the enemy within, that they are recent arrivals who have never made a valuable contribution to Europe. But we can show that they have sacrificed their lives for a free Europe, have helped to make it what it is and that they have a right to be here.”

Central to the foundation’s ethos is spreading knowledge of its findings to young Britons and Europeans in particular, with the aim that this will help future generations better understand the Muslim communities living among them. The battlefield tours, entitled The Muslim Experience in World War One, are organised in partnership with Anglia Tours, a company that specialises in battlefield visits for British schoolchildren.

In addition to visiting the trenches, memorials and graves, and hearing the human stories behind them, the tour also includes a visit to the El Badr mosque in Amiens for a presentation on the foundation’s research, followed by a traditional north-African meal. Non-Muslim visitors are also encouraged to witness evening prayers.

Yusuf Chambers of the Muslim Heritage Trust, which works with the foundation in Britain, said: “We are trying to build bridges and what better way to do this than by sharing a meal and socialising together?

“Our work is focused on all communities and ages but particularly the young. We want people to know about this history because we want every British and European child to say that Muslims were heroes of the first world war too.”

The foundation’s work has already caught the eye of first world war experts. Last month, Ferrier addressed historians at Harvard University and he has also presented a paper to the UN. Plans are under way for a book next year that will contain extracts of the documents and images that have been uncovered, and an exhibition is to tour Europe. As the research continues, he estimates that the current figure of 2.5 million Muslims helping the allies during the first world war could increase.

 
For those visitors who attended last week’s inaugural tour, what proved particularly powerful was hearing letters read out from Muslim soldiers to their families in which they shared their fears and faith. One from an Algerian soldier stationed in the trenches around Notre Dame de Lorette in 1916 read: “I swear by God and by that which we hold sacred, I will never stop saying my prayers, I will never abandon my faith even if I am assailed by ordeals more terrible than those in which I find myself in.”

Visitor Tayaba Shaukat, aged 25 from west London, said: “It’s when you hear these personal testimonies that you really understand what these men went through. The experience of European soldiers in the first world war has been well documented by poets and other writers, but we don’t know anything about the lives of the Muslim and other colonial soldiers and this has to change.”

MUSLIM COMRADES

Soldiers

400,000 Indians (British Indian army)

200,000 Algerians , 100,000 Tunisians, 40,000 Moroccans, 100,000 West Africans, 5,000 Somalis and Libyans (French army)

5,000 American Muslims

1.3 million Russian Muslims

Labourers

100,000 Egyptians

35,000 Chinese Muslims

130,000 North Africans

200,000 Sub Saharan Africans

40,000 Indians

Edited by Buce
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davieG

davieG

Posted
Posted

Woman ripped man's testicle out with her teeth

5 hours ago

 

Image copyrightCIARAN DONNELLY

Image captionNunzia Del Viscio must stay in her home between 22:00 and 06:00 for six months

A woman has been ordered to pay compensation to her former boyfriend after ripping a testicle out of his scrotum with her teeth.

Nunzia Del Viscio, 43, carried out the attack in her victim's flat in Edinburgh in May last year.

She claimed she had been acting in self defence, but was convicted of assault.

Del Viscio has been placed on a restriction of liberty order for six months, which means she must stay at home between 22:00 and 06:00.

Appearing for sentence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, she was also ordered to pay her victim £500 compensation.

Sheriff Peter McCormack heard that those involved in the incident were Italian nationals, all working in restaurants in Edinburgh.

'Destroying' bedroom

Del Viscio, Mr Palma and two other people met in a nightclub after work. They had been drinking, and Del Viscio admitted to having taken drugs.

When the nightclub closed, all four went to Mr Palma's flat in a taxi.

Mr Palma told the court that in the early hours of the morning, Del Viscio had begun "destroying" one of the bedrooms.

He said he told her to calm down and leave, but during the argument she bit his left testicle.

He said he tried to stop the flow of blood with a towel and called for an ambulance.

He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where his testicle was put back into the scrotum and he was given 15 stitches.

Police found Del Viscio outside the flat with blood on her teeth and face.

'Fairly distraught'

She had injuries to her eyes and bruising on her face, and told officers that she had been hit by Mr Palma.

Police said he had been "fairly distraught", and that a bedroom was in a state of disarray, with pools of blood on the floor.

During the trial, defence solicitor Philip Templeton, asked Mr Palma if he had caused injuries to his client's eyes and face.

He admitted that he did, but said he had been attempting to stop Del Viscio biting him.

She told the court that she had wanted to escape from the flat, but that Mr Palma had pushed her onto the floor and began punching her.

Del Viscio said: "As he came to me I bit him. I just remember a noise and blood pouring into my mouth."

Defence solicitor Philip Templeton said there was a low risk of his client re-offending.

He said she led an otherwise productive life with a good record of employment, and that the incident had been caused by alcohol and drugs.

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Wymsey

Wymsey

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Webbo said:

The questions about the UK that the world asks Google 

 

 

 

4736F16B00000578-5167273-An_infographic_

http://Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5167273/The-questions-UK-world-asks-Google.html#ixzz50yrdSoEU 
 

Might be a sign that the UK will become slightly more unpopular once we leave the EU..:whistle:

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Innovindil

Innovindil

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Webbo said:

The questions about the UK that the world asks Google 

 

 

 

4736F16B00000578-5167273-An_infographic_

http://Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5167273/The-questions-UK-world-asks-Google.html#ixzz50yrdSoEU 
 

Netherlands - why are the British so polite? 

 

Dats what dem marajuanas does to you. Makes you think the British are polite. lol

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Nick

Nick

Posted
Posted
On 27/10/2017 at 19:50, ajthefox said:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/27/christian-felix-ngole-thrown-out-sheffield-university-anti-gay-remarks-loses-appeal

 

Guy who says homosexuality is a sin is removed from his university social work course.

 

As much as I disagree with his view and where it comes from, it sounds like this guy has simply expressed his view publicly and I think this is harsh.

 

I'm not convinced this is hate speech and it seems like pretty muddy water for the university to be getting itself into. If he said those things in employment I think the employer would be well within their rights to remove him because he would effect people using the service, but the university? I'm not so sure.

 

What would they have done if someone said they thought that religion is bollocks? Would they have booted them out too?

Thoughts?

Whilst I also find his views pretty abhorrent- it's tough for universities who provide professional courses which require the student to achieve learning outcomes mapped to national occupational standards.

 

In social work for instance a central theme is equality and diversity and it would appear that this students personal views challenged the professional ethics of his field of study and was unable to professionally separate the personal opinion from professional practice.

 

A university also would have to send this student out on placement to work with people in the community and they would need to be sure before putting people at risk that he was able to abide by a student code of conduct and not put vulnerable people at risk (not just the institution, course reputation and social care agencies providing the placement) and if they had reasonable evidence to consider that the student was not capable of separating personal and professional which put vulnerable people at risk then they would be negligent in allowing the individual to go on placement or award a qualification and license to practice.

 

In my experience when students have posed such problems I have allowed the student to attend and take the academic courses and assessments but not allowed them to participate in placement related activities where a risk of harm to the public or organisation/institution may be present. For some courses this means that they graduate with an HE certificate or diploma but not a certificate or diploma that specifies a professional ability to practice in a certain field - e.g. Social work or Law or Youth and Community Work.

 

It would appear that in this instance the student was deemed as unfit to practice and had possibly breached the university code of conduct in the manner of how he presented his personal opinion and it may be that the structure of the Honours course he was studying meant that he was unable to graduate without completing two professional placements.

 

I doubt they got this too far wrong in all honesty but I agree on face value it appears discriminatory.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

I've given you the independent version here. The Guardian version called the case of seals on penguins sexual assault...(I'm not even joking)

 

The Independent

Sex between monkey and deer may be a new 'behavioural tradition', scientists say

Researchers call for more more studies to discover if relationship is 'short-lived fad' or 'culturally maintained phenomenon'
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Sex between a group of monkeys and deer may be a new “behavioural tradition”, scientists studying the creatures have said.

Male Japanese macaques were first filmed earlier this year mounting female sika deer in Minoo, Japan. It was unclear whether this was a case of “misdirected mating”.

However, scientists have suggested the unusual behaviour may well be sexual after adolescent female monkeys and sika stags were also observed copulating.

 
Publishing their findings in the Archives of Sexual Behavriour journal, researchers hypothesised that there could be several different reasons why the animals are taking part in inter-species sex.

They suggested young female monkeys may be using the interactions as practice for eventual mating with male macaques.

Adolescent females, who are routinely rejected by older males, could also be using the deer as an “outlet for sexual frustration”, they said.

Finally, the report’s authors theorised sex between the two species was the start of a brand new “behavioural tradition”, which could either develop into a “short-lived fad” or a “culturally maintained phenomenon.”

The study said: “The monkey-deer sexual interactions reported here may reflect the early stage development of a new behavioural tradition at Minoo.

“Observational learning and social tolerance towards unusual sexual interactions are likely conducive to the expression, spread, and maintenance of other non-conceptive sexual behaviours in this primate species.

“Monkey-deer sexual interactions had never been noticed at Minoo before 2014. Future observations at this site will indicate whether this group-specific sexual oddity was a short-lived fad or the beginning of a culturally maintained phenomenon.”

The Minoo macaques and deer are not the only animals known to look for sex outside their own species.

THE COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2017

comedy-wildlife-photography-9.jpg

 

A young elephant seals looks shocked at his friends revelation in George Cathcart's "WTF?!", taken in San Simeon, California George Cathcart / CWPA / Barcroft

 

comedy-wildlife-photography-3.jpg

 

Andrea Zampatti won the On The Land category with this precious snap in Italy Andrea Zampatti / CWPA / Barcroft

 

 
 

Antarctic fur seals have been observed trying to mate with king penguins, while types of bird, cat and dolphin has also been known to carry out the behaviour.

However, while these interactions are usually a case of one an aggressive animal sexually harassing another, scientists believe the deer and macaques have sex consensually.

 

The report stated: “During the vast majority of heterospecific consortships, adult male deerbehaved passively, either standing still or slowly foraging while being recipients of the monkeys’ sexual activities.

“Our preliminary observations suggest that this tolerance on the part of stags may translate into some potential hygienic benefits in the form of allo-grooming by the monkeys. This grooming was specifically directed to body parts that are not easily accessed by the deer.”

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DJ Barry Hammond

DJ Barry Hammond

Posted
Posted

 

Whether this is an 'interesting new story' is debatable... but its my work, so I'm plugging it! 

 

(whats the point in doing these things, if no-one reads it... which is what invariably happens, but you've got to at least try and get it out there, huh? All comments, including criticism greatly received)

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Jon the Hat

Jon the Hat

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, boots60 said:

Leicestershire county council

 

What would we do on Christmas day without their dietary advice.

 

Worth the council tax alone for its comedy value

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-42412274

Food waste is a huge problem in the UK, if people slip up once or twice along the way to tackling it then chuckle and move along!

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Nick

Nick

Posted
Posted
On 19 December 2017 at 01:14, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

Whether this is an 'interesting new story' is debatable... but its my work, so I'm plugging it! 

 

(whats the point in doing these things, if no-one reads it... which is what invariably happens, but you've got to at least try and get it out there, huh? All comments, including criticism greatly received)

 

I've given you a 'follow' buddy.

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