Adam Yosef
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Adam Yosef (born September 1981) is a British journalist, photojournalist and political activist.


Background

Yosef was born in September 1981 in
Marston Green Marston Green is a village in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands. It lies within the historic counties of England, historic county of Warwickshire ...
, England and is of South Asian and Middle Eastern heritage, with family from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
and
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. His immediate family is
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
.


Activism

In 2003, Yosef co-founded the interfaith Saltley Gate Peace Group, a community peace initiative which was formed in response to the threat of
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
as a part of the growing peace movement in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
following
9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, and he was Community & Interfaith Liaison Officer for the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition during this period. He has been actively involved in community work which is related to the Lozells riots, the Alum Rock terror raids and campaigning against radical groups in the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
. In his early twenties, Yosef slept rough on the streets of London before being assisted by
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
. As a result, founded the Birmingham Food Drive in 2012, which regularly provides food, clothes and essential items to homeless people in the city, and is an active supporter of youth homelessness charity St Basils. He has also written for Pavement, the magazine for the rough sleepers in the UK. Between 2011 and 2017, Yosef co-organised the Birmingham Zombie Walk, an annual event which raised thousands of pounds for
Birmingham Children's Hospital Birmingham Children's Hospital is a specialist children's hospital located in Birmingham, England. The hospital provides a range of specialist services and operates the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the city. The serv ...
, as part of an ongoing commitment to the charity. In 2015, Yosef co-founded the Birmingham chapter of the national anti-racism organisation Stand Up To Racism. He is an organiser for
Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...
. In 2021, Yosef co-founded Birmingham Against LGBTQI+ Hate, informally and commonly known as Brum Against Hate, alongside activists
Saima Razzaq Saima Razzaq is a British political activist and educator, co-chair of SEEDS (Supporting the Education of Equality in Schools) and Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Birmingham Pride. Razzaq actively campaigns for LGBT inclusive education in sc ...
and Salman Mirza. The group organises rallies against homophobic attacks in the city and has called on city leaders to facilitate better relationships between communities.


Public media career


PR and communications

Between 2003 and 2004, Yosef was employed by the Birmingham Central Mosque as a Press & Public Relations representative. He regularly appeared as spokesperson for the trust alongside its chairman, Dr Mohammad Naseem. From 2005, he was Press Officer for politician
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
, the former leader of the
Respect Party The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
. He was also Press & Social Media Officer for Yaqoob during the 2010 general election.


Journalism

Between 2005 and 2006, Yosef was senior journalist with ''
The Asian Today ''The Asian Today'' is a free fortnightly community newspaper published and distributed in the Midlands, England. It is a community newspaper providing the region's south-Asian community access to important news stories, current events and en ...
'' and ''
Desi Xpress ''Desi Xpress'' was a weekly national entertainment newspaper, published in the United Kingdom by Urban Media Limited. Background ''Desi Xpress'' was first launched in the Midlands region in England in September 2004 before becoming national in S ...
'', owned by Urban Media. In 2007, Yosef was appointed deputy editor of national entertainment magazine '' Ikonz''. In 2008, he became a columnist for ''Fusian'' magazine. In July 2009, Yosef launched ''I Am Birmingham'', an independent news website serving the West Midlands region, of which he is Editor-in-Chief. In August 2011, he was attacked by rioters while covering the
2011 England riots A series of riots took place between 6 and 11 August 2011 in cities and towns across England, which saw looting and arson, as well as mass deployment of police and the deaths of five people. The protests started in Tottenham Hale, London, follo ...
, during which he suffered a cut to the face and a swollen jaw. Yosef has regularly written for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, creating content highlighting issues of socio-politics, diversity, culture, racism and religion. He has also written for the ''
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
'', Jewish news website ''
The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...
'', Muslim news website ''IlmFeed'', and has had his work featured in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', '' The Mirror'', and ''
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
''.


Controversies


Homophobic comments

* In the December 2005 issue of the
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British people of Asian people, Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6 ...
newspaper ''
Desi Xpress ''Desi Xpress'' was a weekly national entertainment newspaper, published in the United Kingdom by Urban Media Limited. Background ''Desi Xpress'' was first launched in the Midlands region in England in September 2004 before becoming national in S ...
'' (Issue 42), he made
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
remarks about the UK's new
civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
law for same-sex couples, including remarks such as "Hmm... gay weddings... Gay people and commitment? I don't think so... They'll be shagging the neighbours before they even cut the cake. Bad idea I'm afraid. Great way of evading tax though...." He later apologised and retracted his comments in the same newspaper, claiming his opinions were misinterpreted.


Peter Tatchell

* In January 2006, he subsequently wrote another article for the same newspaper on bigotry, in which he named
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...
, leader of
OutRage! OutRage! was a British political group focused on lesbian and gay rights. Founded in 1990, the organisation ran for 21 years until 2011. It described itself as "a broad based group of queers committed to radical, non-violent protest, non-viol ...
,
Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...
, the leader of the
British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
, and
Omar Bakri Mohammed Omar Bakri Muhammad (; born Omar Bakri Fostock; 1958) is a Syrian Islamist militant leader born in Aleppo. He was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading to another Islamist organisati ...
, leader of
Al-Muhajiroun Al-Muhajiroun (, "The Emigrants") is a Proscription, proscribed terrorist network based in Saudi Arabia and active for many years in the United Kingdom. The group was founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Syrian who previously belonged to ''Hizb ut- ...
, as the three top "hate filled bigots" in the United Kingdom. He also said that Tatchell "needs a good slap in the face" and that he and his "queer campaign army" should "pack their bent bags and head back to Australia." After complaints that he was homophobic and inciting violence, Yosef claimed that he had "misspoken" and apologised for any perceived homophobia, but maintained the view that Tatchell was a bigot saying that the reference to Australia was intended as a reference to the Cronulla riots in Sydney. The newspaper gave Tatchell a full-page right of reply. * ''
Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...
'' magazine, allied to the left of the Labour Party, criticised Yosef and suggested his NUJ card should be withdrawn. He was further described as "bigoted" and "hate-driven" by ''Progress'' magazine, which is allied to the
Blairite In British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known as Blairites. It entered the '' New Penguin English Dictio ...
faction of the Labour Party and criticised by the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
, of which Tatchell is a member. Respect defended Yosef, citing his BBC articles supporting
LGBT pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility o ...
. The party stated it opposed "homophobia and anti-gay violence". In October 2009, Yosef pledged his formal support to Tatchell's
General Election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
parliamentary candidacy for the
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
, calling for the left to "embrace a mutual personal and political commitment towards equality and human rights". Yosef and Tatchell have met several times since, at Pride events and Tatchell has been interviewed by Yosef in his capacity as a journalist. * Yosef has described his comments at the time as "satire" and "self-depreciation" but admits this became "disjointed" and lost in a charge that focused on his religious identity rather than his sexual identity. In a June 2020
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
thread, he clarified: "This has been previously stated but when I originally wrote those words/comments around 15 years ago, they featured in several different articles and disjointed opinion segments with a combination of satire, self-deprecation, sarcasm and tabloid
sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...
. Isolated and within context, much of what was written wasn't an issue and raised no eyebrows, until paired with a later piece I wrote that included mention of campaigner Peter Tatchell. This piece panders to an editorial style I accepted was problematic and apologised for." * He has challenged accusations of homophobia which he states overlook his work in the LGBT+ community in favour of a radical Muslim stereotype narrative: "The claim and notion that I was or am homophobic is wrong. I have never been homophobic. The idea that I was homophobic until I 'came out', as mentioned above, is false, without evidence and extremely dangerous. It plays into a racial and religious stereotype, the trope of a 'conservative/repressed/religious/self-hating queer' with an inferior and intolerant culture or faith. This is false. I have never been 'in' as it were and have always personally identified as queer without any kind of self-denial. Prior to the controversy over the PT eter Tatchellcolumn, I wrote a number of articles about LGBT issues and identity, including reviews of Pride marches and the inclusion of early LGBT stories in South Asian/Arab media platforms; and introducing LGBT listings in these, which was rare. "There was no doubt to those who knew and know me as to where I stood and stand on LGBT+ rights and identity. However I was also very aware of how I was perceived within the same community as a POC/Muslim/queer/bisexual/pansexual individual. It wasn't often favourably."


Labour Party

* In October 2019, public letters written by
LGBT+ Labour LGBT+ Labour is the socialist society (Labour Party), socialist society officially representing the LGBTQ wing of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party, ...
and LGBT+ Labour West Midlands accusing West Midlands mayoral candidate
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
of homophobia, included claims Yosef was previously employed by Yaqoob and had "called for violence against LGBT+ activists". The letters were shared and endorsed by Labour MPs
Wes Streeting Wesley Paul William Streeting (; born 21 January 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford ...
and
Ben Bradshaw Sir Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter f ...
. Yaqoob defended her relationship with Yosef, stating: "Adam is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and is an active campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights, who was pivotal in promoting Muslim groups' involvement in Birmingham Pride." Yaqoob's responses to the points made in the letters were backed by LGBT+ activists
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
,
Saima Razzaq Saima Razzaq is a British political activist and educator, co-chair of SEEDS (Supporting the Education of Equality in Schools) and Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Birmingham Pride. Razzaq actively campaigns for LGBT inclusive education in sc ...
and UK Black Pride Director Pav Akhtar, who described Yaqoob as an ally. LGBT+ Labour West Midlands has since removed the original letter from their Twitter account.


Politics

Yosef is a former member of the Respect Party, campaigning for the party in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. He supported the
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
in October 2009.


Personal life

Yosef is
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and identifies as
pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...
.


Honours

In October 2007, Yosef was included in Ikonz magazine's special
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
photo shoot, in which he was transformed into a
The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancà ...
. He was featured alongside actors from television soap
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
and presenters from the
BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...
. In March 2008, he was included in the top 50 most eligible bachelors list for Asian Woman magazine. In November 2017, he was nominated and shortlisted for the Inspirational Man accolade at the Birmingham Inspiration Awards. In September 2018, Yosef was nominated and shortlisted for the Excellence in Media accolade at The Birmingham Awards. In 2019 and 2021, he was nominated in the Positive Role Model (LGBT) category for the
National Diversity Awards The National Diversity Awards is an awards ceremony which honours positive role models, entrepreneurs and community organisations across several different strands within the equality and diversity sector. It is held annually in various venues a ...
. In 2020, Yosef was presented with an honorary award for 'Outstanding Contribution to LGBTQ+ Equality' award by '' Midlands Zone'' magazine.


References


External links


Man, 20, 'critical' after shooting in shop
–
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...
, February 2008
Man gunned down in shop
–
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
, February 2008
Presents donated to children's hospital
– Asian Image, December 2007
Terror arrests anger community
–
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, February 2007
Terror arrests: A call for calm
–
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...
, February 2007
Community leaders fear raids could be 'damaging'
–
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
, February 2007
The witch-hunt against Adam Yosef
– Islamophobia Watch, January 2006
In-depth media links and reference on Peter Tatchell controversy
– January 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yosef, Adam 1981 births Living people English people of Indian descent English people of Iraqi descent British Muslims British male journalists British LGBTQ journalists British pansexual people BBC people LGBTQ Muslims Pansexual men Pansexual writers Respect Party people