5 Pillars UK

11 Nov

Dilly Hussain: "The Jamans' are like my own family"

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk, Features5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Caliphate, Ifthekar Jaman, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Jaman, Jihad, Khilafah, Muslims, Mustakim Jaman, Portsmouth, Syria, Tuhin Shahensha

Dilly Hussain reflects on his personal relationship with the Jaman family from Portsmouth. One of the Jaman brothers, Ifthekar, died fighting with ISIS in Syria while two others await trial on terrorism charges. Ifthekar Jaman is arguably the most high-profile British jihadist to have died in Syria fighting with ISIS. I only became aware of his story weeks before his death […]

1 Nov

Poppy Hijab…#NotInMyName

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Afghanistan, Dilly Hussain, Hijab, Huffington Post, Iraq, ISB, Islam, Islamic Society of Britain, Muslims, poppy hijab, WW1

The ‘poppy hijab’ is another campaign to make Muslims prove their allegiance to the UK and in reality is colonising an act of worship in Islam, writes Dilly Hussain. British Muslims are being urged to wear a new ‘poppy hijab‘ as a challenge to extremist groups who “spout hatred” towards the Armed Forces. The campaign is being […]

9 Oct

Muslims don't give a damn about The Sun unless it's a substitute for bog role

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Inspire, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Islamophobia, Maajid Nawaz, Muslims, quilliam foundation, Sara Khan, Taj Hargey, The Sun

When The Sun newspaper scraps its intellectually stimulating Page 3 for a seven-page feature on the “Islamic State”, writes Dilly Hussain, you know it means business! The Sun issued a fatwa yesterday calling upon “Britons of all faiths to unite to defeat IS fanatics” with a front page image of a Muslim woman in a […]

2 Oct

The day an innocent man walked free…again

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk, Opinion5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Cage, extremism, Islam, Moazzam Begg, Muslims, Prevent, radicalisation, Syria, terrorism

This is a story which will not make the front-page headlines of the British press and will not be aired on the mainstream news channels, writes Dilly Hussain. Yesterday, an innocent man was freed for the second time in his life after being detained on terrorism charges. Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was arrested […]

30 Sep

UK air strikes in Iraq will have a blowback at home

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, British foreign policy, Dilly Hussain, extremism, Huffington Post, Iraq, IS, ISIL, ISIS, radicalisation, Syria, terrorism, The West, UK, us

UK air strikes against ISIS in Iraq will have repercussions at home, writes Dilly Hussain. On Friday 26 September, the UK government voted for military air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. MPs voted by 524 to 43, with 69 MPs not voting. A total of twenty-three Labour MPs, six Tories and one Lib Dem voted […]

24 Sep

Exclusive Q & A with a British ISIS fighter

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk, Features5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, Alan Henning, Britain, Caliphate, Dilly Hussain, foreign policy, Hamza al Britani, Iraq, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Jihad, Khilafah, Muslims, Syria, UK

Meet 20-year-old Hamza al-Britani (not his real name) who left the UK for Syria in June last year. The British Pakistani told me via Skype how he caught a plane to Turkey and simply “jogged” over the border to “the land of jihad.” In this exclusive interview, Dilly Hussain goes deep into the mind of […]

24 Sep

Is it a crime to care for Syria and Gaza?

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Cage, Channel, CONTEST, Dr Reza Pankhurst, foreign policy, Gaza, Imam Shakeel Begg, Islam, Moazzam Begg, Mohammed Jahangir, Muslims, Prevent, Syria

Dilly Hussain gives an overview of the concluding event of CAGE’s “Is it a crime to care” national tour, which was held in East London Saturday. Is it a crime to care for Gaza and Syria? Legally speaking, it isn’t a crime to raise awareness of the human rights violations taking place, nor is it […]

23 Sep

US airstrikes in Raqqa – Democracy has arrived in Syria

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Arab states, Barack Obama, Bashar al Assad, Iraq, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Middle East, Muslims, Syria, us, US army

Dilly Hussain shares his thoughts on the US-Arab airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Just before fajr prayers, my Twitter newsfeed was filled with breaking headlines confirming that the US along with its Arab allies had begun airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Both the Assad regime and the Obama administration have denied any collusion regarding this military offensive but […]

21 Sep

Why I support #FreeAlanHenning but not #NotInMyName letter

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Alan Henning, Bilal Abdul Kareem, blame game, British foreign policy, Cage, Dilly Hussain, Huffington Post, Iraq, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Islamic state, Majid Freeman, Muslims, NotInMyName, Syria

Dilly Hussain explains how a letter published in The Independent signed by more than a hundred Muslim leaders urging ISIS to release British aid worker Alan Henning, lacked consistency in content and context. To be absolutely honest, I am getting sick and tired of writing, talking and hearing about the Islamic State of Iraq and […]

17 Sep

Barack Obama Assembles The Avengers To Defeat ISIS

5Pillars, Dilly's Desk5 Pillars UK, 5Pillarsuk, Barack Obama, Caliphate, Dilly Hussain, GCC, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islam, Islamic state, Jeddah Communique, Khilafah, Muslims, us

Dilly Hussain explains why the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham reminds him of Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. Speaking from the State Floor in the White House on Wednesday 10th September, President Barack Obama addressed America on the situation in Iraq. During the 14 minute speech, Obama stated that the US […]