The mainstream media has shown widespread support for both the publisher and author of The Jewel of Medina, the novel which has sparked controversy for its depiction of Aisha, the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s wife.

Despite never having read the book, three men firebombed the home of the Martin Rynja, head of Gibson Square, the firm that is set to publish the novel. In response, the UK press have largely defended the book’s author, Sherry Jones, and castigated those that have tried to restrict freedom of expression.

Islamic, or sharia-compliant, finance could benefit from the UK's current economic downturn, according to financial consultants BDO Stoy Hayward. The principles that underpin Islamic finance will make it more attractive to potential investors as banks are increasingly being forced to make cutbacks.

Islamic finance commonly operates on a risk-sharing model and prohibits usury. As a result more money is available to borrowers and the amount of money owed at any one time is lower than many mainstream lenders.

The Muslim Law Council UK has issued a fatwa which allows guide dogs to enter mosques.

The fatwa was issued after a request from Mohammed Abraar Khatri, an 18 year old blind Muslim student from Leicester, who will become the first to take advantage of the new ruling.

Guest blog by CSC Research Intern Tom Parkinson:

Hammaad Munshi from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was today sentenced to two years in a young offenders institution after being convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act in 2006.

Only 16 at the time of his initial arrest, Munshi now 18 is the youngest person ever to be convicted under the act.

Ethnocentric attitudes have been rising in Europe in the last two years, according to an international survey by the Pew Research Center's, apparently reflecting concerns over immigration, globalisation and the current economic downturn.

The report, published on Wednesday, found increasing levels of Anti-Semitism across Europe with particularly strong negativity in Spain, Poland and Russia. The survey also revealed strong Anti-Muslim views in those three countries, as well as in Germany and France.

A Muslim youth organisation has criticised Sadiq Khan and his Fairness not Favours: How to reconnect with British Muslims pamphlet, the subject of yesterday’s blog.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said that Khan "should be pushing the government to deal with real issues like poverty, crime, racism and Islamophobia."

The government must go beyond a narrow security driven approach to tackling extremism, argues the Labour MP for Tooting. Increasing integration and combating extremism within British society is the responsibility of the government, Muslim communities and the wider British public, says Sadiq Khan.

In a Fabian Society pamphlet, Fairness not Favours: How to reconnect with British Muslims, published today, Khan, a government whip, outlines a series of proposals aimed at encouraging a sense of "inclusive Britishness" and "rethinking the role of faith in public life".

Britain's first state-funded Hindu faith school opened in Harrow today. The Krishna-Avanti Primary School began classes with just 30 pupils - although the school plans to expand greatly next year when it moves into new purpose-built buildings.

The school will offer an education based on Hindu values and beliefs but lessons will follow the national curriculum. Pupils will have the opportunity to practise meditation and yoga, with school lunches following a strictly vegetarian diet.

The council’s head of democratic services, John Williams, has been receiving anonymous hate mail implying death threats.

The hate mail is in response to Williams’ appeal last month to non-Muslim councillors, asking them to refrain from eating during the month of Ramadan, in order to respect Muslim councillors who are fasting this month.

John Mason, the recently elected SNP MP for Glasgow East, accused those who criticised a SNP Councillor who appeared on video firing a Kalashnikov rifle in Pakistan of being racist.

Councillor Jahangir Hanif was suspended from the SNP in August for two months after a video emerged showing him demonstrating how to use a gun to his children during a trip to the Kashmir border in 2005.

Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, the Conservatives' shadow security minister, has called on the government to review plans to allow Tablighi Jamaat to build a mega-mosque for 40,000 worshippers in East London.

Neville-Jones called on the government to take action to stop the mosque after several of those convicted of planning terrorist attacks yesterday were shown to have been closely involved with the Tablighi Jamaat group.

A new study has found that 'institutional racism' by teachers towards black Caribbean students in secondary schools can significantly undermine their chances of academic success.

There is evidence to suggest teachers routinely under-estimate the abilities of some black pupils based on assumptions of behavioural problems, such as confrontational attitudes, which overshadows the student's real academic talent, leaving teachers to expect students to under-achieve.

Britain’s economic downturn could lead to an increase in violent crime, burglaries and far-right extremism, according to a leaked Home Office document.

The draft letter from the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, entitled "Responding to Economic Challenges", warns the Prime Minister of the potential social effects of recession. Based on models from the 1991-92 recession, the document also predicts rises in alcohol and tobacco smuggling, increased intolerance towards migrants and increased support for radical Islamist groups.

Guest blog by Tom Parkinson, CSC research intern:

The Daily Mail today reported that following the CSC's press release on Monday documenting a meeting between Abu Qatada and convicted Egyptian extremist Yasser al-Sirri, the Home Office is to review the former's bail conditions. Al-Sirri - who was identified by the Centre - is currently not included on a list of more than 20 extremists with Qatada is banned from associating.

Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a security adviser to the Prime Minister, said: "Yasser Al-Sirri is a dangerous individual. The fact he is allowed to associate with Abu Qatada makes a mockery of Qatada's bail conditions. 'The Home Office has got to stop its tinkering and ensure that proper checks and measures are in place to protect the public from extremists. That includes adding Al-Sirri to the list of those Qatada cannot associate with."

The Centre today issued a press release on a meeting between Abu Qatada, the Jordanian radical preacher recently released on bail, and Yasser al-Sirri, an Egyptian extremist who has been convicted of terrorism in Egypt and sentenced to death in absentia.

The press release describes al-Sirri's links to a wide variety of militant groups and individuals - both in the UK and abroad - and concludes that his meeting with Abu Qatada shows that the latter's bail conditions were seriously flawed. The press-release is available online here.