I am, like millions of others, dutifully fasting from dawn to dusk this month. My faith does not define me. It refines me Nazir Afzal is chancellor of the University of Manchester and a former chief prosecutor As Ramadan begins , Muslims across Britain prepare for a month of fasting, reflection and charity. For most of us, it is a time of spiritual discipline and generosity. For too many of us, it is also a time when the drumbeat of anti-Muslim hatred grows louder. I have never liked the word “ Islamophobia ”. It sounds abstract, almost clinical. What we are dealing with is not a vague fear. It is hostility. Suspicion. Discrimination. Abuse. So, I call it what it is, anti-Muslim hatred. Nazir Afzal is chancellor of the University of Manchester and a former chief prosecutor Continue reading...