Free Republic

A communal iftar in the heart of London has ignited a fierce political row in the United Kingdom. On March 16 afternoon, around 3,000 Muslims gathered at Trafalgar Square for the annual “Open Iftar”, an event held since 2019 to mark the breaking of the Ramadan fast. Hundreds of attendees, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, joined the call to prayer, kneeling at Trafalgar Square. Khan hailed the gathering as a reflection of London’s inclusive ethos, saying the city “celebrates and champions our diversity”. What began as a symbolic display of unity quickly spiralled into controversy. Conservative MP and UK’s shadow...

Democratic Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan praised Somali migrants in the state during a visit to a market in a video posted on YouTube Thursday. President Donald Trump announced in November that he would end “Temporary Protected Status” for Somalis in the state in response to allegations of welfare fraud and said that the influx of refugees had “destroyed our country.” Flanagan, who wore a hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women, during her visit to the market, held a microphone during the video posted by Somali TV of Minnesota “Salam Alaikum. My name’s Peggy Flanagan. I am...

Michel Houellebecq’s novel Submission provides a glimpse of the first post-secular society, imagining a future France that gives in to the rising influence of Islam. In Houellebecq’s tale, France’s effete and enervated elites acquiesce to the ascendant power, Islam, in order that they may remain elites. Francois, Houellebecq’s loathsome protagonist, can find little reason to go on living other than satisfying libidinous urges. Disillusioned and thwarted, he sets out in the footsteps of his dissertation subject (and would-be inspiration), Joris-Karl Huysmans, in search of spiritual rebirth, only to find that Christian culture—for him and implicitly for Europe—no longer possesses the...