The London Circle

| The London Circle | 10 Jan 2024

For almost 13 years, the Asaad Regime in Damascus has been overseeing the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Syrians, many by means of illegal chemical and biological weapons, the destruction of countless Syrian towns and cities and the displacement of almost half the Syrian population, yet it seems that the international justice system has failed in bringing any of the regime’s figures to justice. Why?

The Asaad regime is one of the most brutal regimes in the world and the means by which it has maintained its grip on power in the last 12 years has been nothing short of barbaric. Millions of Syrians have paid the price of asking for freedom, democracy and human rights, with their blood, their homes, their possessions and with their lives. Yet, despite the passage of time, justice seems illusive.

Ibrahim Olabi discusses with Anas Altikriti what has been done before the international justice, what are the impediments and challenges, and what are the gains that are being achieved in the pursuit for justice for the Syrian people.

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Guests:

| Ibrahim Olabi, Syrian British Barrister 

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| The London Circle | 20 Dec 2023

Coming from a housing estate in Central London, and facing substantial challenges, Hamza Taouzzale decided early on to work towards addressing the social challenges of his neighbourhood, and ended up sitting next to the Royal Family and being a star guest at the King’s Coronation.

How much do social obstacles contribute towards making or breaking an individual? The fact that many young people end up involved with gangs, crime and drugs could be seen as a normal outcome, but the journey of Hamza Taouzzale is one which defies the normal and proves the value of self-belief couples with familial support.

At the age of 16, Taouzzale became a member of the Youth Parliament, and from then a short journey to the most celebrated of world stages as Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster.

He discusses with Anas Altikriti the issues facing young people who come from housing estates, and the opportunities available to them to become elements of change in their local and national communities. He also discusses the position of Labour in light of the genocide committed in Gaza and the leadership’s silence as to the crime committed and how that will likely impact the outcome of the next general elections.

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Guests:

| Hamza Taouzzale, Former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster

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| The London Circle | 29 Nov 2023

In light of over 50 days of incessant shelling and destruction of Gaza, which left over 14,000 civilians dead, what use is International Law, and what good does labelling the actions of Israel as War Crimes, bring?

Indeed, what has the International community done for numerous cases of gross violations, such as Syria, Bangladesh, the Uyghurs and Yemen, to mention but a few? Is this not a crisis point which threatens the status quo around the world?

Whilst the prospect of seeing war criminals standing trial at the ICC is an exciting one, but realistically the possibility of that happening is fairly minimal. The crisis facing the International Community is the enforceability of International Law and proving that war criminals cannot get away with committing the most heinous crimes.

With thousands dead and wounded in Gaza and with war crimes galore being committed before the eyes of the world, what chance is there that the perpetrators will be hold to account and prosecuted?

These and many more issues are discussed with Toby Cadman, an expert in Human Rights law and the ICC.

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Guests:

| Toby Cadman, Head of Chambers, Geurnica 37

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| The London Circle | 15 Nov 2023

The Muslim Charity Sector in the UK is one of the most, if not the most thriving of all charitable sectors. Tens of millions pour into and out of this sector every year and Muslims are described as the most generous faith community in the UK, year after year.

What are the opportunities to achieve real growth and development for the Muslim community and all of society, and what are the main challenges?

The Charity Commission has for some time now been a major part of the PREVENT strategy, and has deliberately targeted Muslim charities, in a serious departure from the CC’s main remit. This not only constitutes a major hindrance to the efforts of Muslim charities, but creates a climate of uncertainty throughout a community where charitable work is considered a cornerstone.

Jahangir Mohammed of the Ayaan Institute discusses with Anas Altikriti the successes, opportunities and challenges facing Muslim charities in the UK.

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Guests:

| Jahangir Mohammed,  Director, Ayaan Institute.

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| The London Circle | 08 Nov 2023

Hundreds of thousands continue to flood the streets of London every week in support of Palestine. Flags and chants galore, despite threats from the Home Secretary. This coming Saturday an even bigger crowd is expected. But how do you build this momentum?

John Rees of Stop the War Coalition discusses with Anas Altikriti the legacy of the Pro-Palestine campaign in the UK and where it finds itself in light of the genocide being committed in Gaza as we speak.

They remember the founding figures of the movement and the many challenges it encountered at the hands of a series of governments that have come and gone. Further, the position of the current Home Secretary and her incessant attempts to criminalise these protests, and what it means for Gaza and for the campaign for Palestine in the UK.

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Guests:

| John Rees, Co-Founder, Stop the War Coalition.

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| The London Circle | 01 Nov 2023

Story telling is surely one of the most profound means of understanding the meaning of struggle, and Bernt Hermele has certainly made listening to stories of survivors of the Holocaust as well as those who suffer the Israeli occupation of Palestine, a form of art.

The quest to know and understand is powerfully manifested in Bernt Hermele’s story of conversion from growing up as a Zionist Jew, to losing his mother in a suicide attack in Netanya. His quest for understanding is an impressive account of a personal journey for self-discovery amid the chaos and torment of occupation, and his reference to the Nakba in both his book and his podcast is profound and telling.

Bernt Hermele, Swedish Journalist, Author and Documentary Maker talks with Anas Altikriti about his journey.

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Guests:

| Bernt Hermele, Swedish Journalist, Author and Documentary Maker.

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| The London Circle | 25 Oct 2023

Suella Braverman has been vocal about her intention to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations and campaigns, going as far as to suggest that the mere carrying of the Palestinian flag might be seen as a criminal act.

Yet more and more young people of all backgrounds seem intent on displaying their support for the Palestinian people and concentration of Israel and its attacks on Gaza.

The British university scene used to be the epicentre of the fight for justice and freedom anywhere in the world. Alas, no more.

With hundreds of thousands of people joining demonstrations across the UK, the question many ask whether the government, and specifically the Home Secretary will carry through with tutor threats to clamp down on public displays of support for the Palestinians.

A tragedy that is 75 years in the making seems to be attracting more and more young people seemingly undeterred by the threats issued by Suella Braverman, the Jewish Board of Deputies and others to bring charges of incitement or supporting a terrorist organisation, ie Hamas. The mainstream media’s coverage of the Israeli attacks in Gaza appears to have encouraged activists to be more vocal about speaking the truth, rather than intimidated into staying silent.

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Guests:

| Abdulrrahman Tamimi, British Palestinian activist

| Omar Mofeed, British Palestinian activist

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| The London Circle | 18 Oct 2023

The audacity of the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on the 7th of October caused reverberations around the world and could potentially be a game-changer for the entire struggle against Zionism.

The world woke up on the 7th of October to a military operation carried out by #Hamas, the audacity and expanse of which was unprecedented.

Since then, the ramifications of that day have continued to escalate, with the United States and Europe backing #Israel to the hilt.

This episode of The London Circle comes on the 11th day of Israel’s attack on Gaza resulting in the death of more than 3000 Palestinians including 500 killed in an attack on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night.

Anas Altikriti joins both Daud Abdullah, Director of @MiddleEastMonitor and Azzam Tamimi, Author & Palestinian Expert @azzamtamimi to discuss the current situation and how it could potentially be a game-changer for the entire struggle against Zionism.

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Guests:

| Daud Abdullah, Director of Middle East Monitor

| Azzam Tamimi, Author and Palestinian Expert

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| The London Circle | 11 Oct 2023

The fact that Muslims, and especially Muslim activists are subject to monitoring and their privacy often violated due to anti-terror allowances is well known.

But how deep and how far do these violations of privacy, data sharing and profiling go, and at what expense?

Phantom Parrot is a new documentary covering the trials and tribulations of activists at the hands of security authorities, and is also an actual intelligence program which sought, among other things, to invade the private lives of a number of activists to monitor their movements and restrict their capacity to travel and speak. Mohammed Rabbani was one of those activists, and his arguments against the alleged right of security authorities to obtain passwords and private information of suspects, are well known.

Anas Altikriti talks with him about this new documentary and about his own work on the encroachment of intelligence authorities into our private lives.

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Guests:

| Mohammed Rabbani, Director, Cage UK

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| The London Circle | 04 Oct 2023

For centuries, Palestine was a diverse multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society whose various facets lived side by side in peace. The Zionist project targeted all those facets and today threatens their very existence. Palestine’s Christians, inhabitants of Palestine for over 2000 years have their story to tell.

The dominant narrative on Palestine projected by the mainstream media, often deliberately omits a crucial component thereof, Palestinian Christians and their struggle against Zionism and the Israeli occupation with all its manifestations.

Not only does this reduce the Palestinian struggle, it exposes a hypocrisy of the largely Christian West towards their brethren in faith in Palestine.

Anas Altikriti talks to Bishop Munib Younan and Makram Khoury-Machool about the struggles the Palestine’s Christians encounter including correcting the dominant narrative on Palestine and their unwavering solidarity with their Muslim and Arab brethren against the ugliness of occupation

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Guests:

| Bishop Munib Younan, Former President of the International Lutheran Church

| Makram Khoury-Machool, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Palestine Studies

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