SHOCKING: Shada islam - What They Never Told You

My mother has died and I can mourn her. That makes me one of the fortunate

For those dying in wars from Gaza to Sudan, there is no shroud, no grave, no funeral, says Shada Islam, a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs

The Guardian - UK · Jul 2

The EU is inviting the Taliban to Brussels. Europe’s credibility lies in tatters

As ICE-style deportation rules come into force, the unsavoury circle the EU wants migrant deals with includes the Afghan regime. This is a nadir, says Shada Islam, a Brussels-based commentator on EU affairs

The Guardian - UK · Jun 11

Orbán may be gone, but his prejudices are now baked into the European political mainstream

EU leaders have normalised once fringe racist narratives in their migration, border control and even foreign policies says Shada Islam, commentator on EU affairs

The Guardian - UK · Apr 27

There’s a word for the EU’s inaction over Gaza: racism

Europe frames the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis rather than a deliberate political choice. There will be a moral reckoning, says Shada Islam, a commentator on EU affairs

The Guardian - UK · Aug 19, 2025

The EU can’t replace the US as a global player until it sheds its own colonial thinking

Eurocentric assumptions and bullying resource-grabs are justified causes of outrage in the global south, says Brussels-based journalist Shada Islam

The Guardian - UK · Apr 29, 2025

Integrate? Europe’s Muslims are damned if we do and damned if we don’t

The new allegation in Islamophobic discourse is that even Muslims who appear ‘well-integrated’ hate the west, says commentator on EU affairs Shada Islam

The Guardian - UK · Jan 2, 2025

Could the shocking Pelicot rape trial help to finally change French attitudes to sexual violence?

The trial of a man accused of drugging and inviting men to allegedly rape his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, has horrified citizens – and revealed how laws on consent and rape need to change

The Guardian - UK · Oct 9, 2024

Look at this photo of Ursula von der Leyen’s new team – and tell me the EU doesn’t have a diversity problem

I have seen how structural racism is embedded in the EU’s institutions. A revolution in recruitment is needed

The Guardian - UK · Oct 8, 2024

There’s a lesson for the EU from Britain’s riots: do more to prevent hatred and division – or violence follows

With the far right making gains in elections, Europe must improve on its dismal record of tackling racism and Islamophobia, writes Brussels-based commentator Shada Islam

The Guardian - UK · Aug 28, 2024

I’m a brown, Muslim European. For people like me, these EU elections are terrifying

EU institutions have already let people of colour down. Now the rise of the far right poses an even greater threat, says Brussels-based commentator Shada Islam

The Guardian - UK · May 28, 2024