Diversifying the Teaching of the First World War

IN NOVEMBER 1914, THE 35TH OTTOMAN SULTAN, MEHMED V, FORMALLY DECLARED JIHAD AGAINST THE ENTENTE POWERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. Addressing a distinguished audience at Istanbul’s Fatih mosque, Mehmed claimed that Britain, France and Russia had long harboured “ill-will against our great Caliphate”, and that millions of Muslims had suffered misfortune and disaster under their […]

“Teaching the history is absolutely vital”

Mohammed Amin, prominent British businessperson and former chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum, picked up the Iliad at the age of nine and thought: ‘sure, I can read that.’ He is known for sticking to his guns in the face of opposition, firstly from left-leaning muslims when he showed his support for the Conservative Party, […]

Suspicion in the eye of the beholder

THE TRAVEL DIARY OF A HISTORY UNDERGRADUATE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE As a second-year university student in 2019 I was awarded a scholarship to visit Palestine for the month of August while I learnt Arabic and volunteered in Nablus. I used the opportunity to explore the beautiful countryside and cityscapes of Israel and Palestine, and […]

Caught in the ripples of a receding tide

MY FATHER’S EXPERIENCE AS A SOLDIER AT THE END OF THE BRITISH MANDATE IN PALESTINE IN 1946 A hundred years ago, on 2nd November 1917, British foreign secretary Lord Arthur James Balfour wrote to Lord Walter Rothschild, considered at the time to be the leader of British Jews, to declare that the British government supported the […]