Between the Lines
Some thoughts on the news, religion and life in general
Hacked but trying to recover
Aug 26th
You’ve probably guessed or seen, we were hacked by someone or people who probably deliberately targeted the site due to its Muslim/Islamic content. As they deleted eveything (and replaced it with offensive and obscene material), we’ve had some difficulty trying to restore the full site – until now.
We’re pleased to report we have now been able to restore almost all the previous material, except maybe the last couple of posts and the most recent comments. We’ve still got some work to do, and for that we ask for your patience as we’re all volunteers here.
Maqasid al-Shari’ah and fanaticism
Apr 6th
The attitude of some people now is ‘my way or the high way’. I have the most correct or the most authentic view and therefore I am upon the Sunnah! You know what I’m talking about, right? We’ve all been there. The reason why people have this attitude is perhaps due to their incorrect knowledge (or the lack of it) in regards to the Shari’ah or more specifically fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) – fiqh is not a monolithic system which one group or individual has monopoly over, but it is as spacious as the oceans of the earth.
It’s surprising that people who previously criticised ‘certain groups’ and ‘individuals’ for carrying and promoting certain views such as voting or political participation, hijrah (migration), establishing groups or organisations, engaging with non-Muslims and a host of other issues - have now, not only adopted the same opinions they used to criticise. Not only that, in some respects they condemned others for espousing it, but they these same people are now promoting and advocating them More >
There isn’t a debate to be had
Mar 31st
As the elections get closer, the ever decreasing naysayers start to bring out their messages of abstention and exclusion. There was a time, maybe a decade or two ago, when there used to be debate on political participation by Muslims living in the West.
These days the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars have not only said that political participation is allowed but that it is to be encouraged. Amongst these majority voices are the largest body of Muslim scholars, the Fiqh Council of Jidda headed by the Mufti of Saudi Arabia along with scholars such as Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Shaykh Bin Bayyah , Dr Wahba Zuhaili, Dr Taha Jabir al-’Awani, Shaykh Abdul Karim Zaydan, Dr. Munir Farid Wasil, former Mufti of Egypt, Shaykh Nizam Yaqubi, Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad from the Islamic Sharia Council, Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam from Darul Iftaa in Leicester, Mufti Zubair Butt from the Al Qalam Institute, Shaykh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, Shaykh Salman Al Awdah, Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid and Maulana Khalilul Rahman Sajjad Nomani Nadwi. The list goes on, but I think you get the point.
Another one bites the dust!
Mar 16th
Our stalker Andrew Gilligan is keeping his word to the ‘concerned’ public (although procrastination is creeping in) to ‘expose’ the authors of Btl. He is still trying to misguide the readers with lies and innuendos. I’m telling you people – I’m on cloud nine as they say! I have never received such attention from a ‘respected’ journalist working for a national newspaper before. Well, not like this anyway.
In his blogpost Mr Andrew Gilligan quotes from a short blog I posted on my personal blog from the Muslim Public Affairs Committee’s website (www.mpacuk.org) in which the author poses a question: When is joining a mainstream political party regarded as ‘infiltration’? This is in reference to the allegations of ‘entryism’ made by Jim Fitzpatrick a few weeks back against the Muslims of Tower Hamlets. He then concludes his blog by stating: ‘’So how should Muslims respond? Simply by getting rid of Fitzpatrick and any other MP that makes such allegations at the forthcoming General Election. Fitzpatrick has a surmountable majority of just over 7,000 votes. If Muslims in the constituency organise against him, they can either sweep him out of power or at least erode his majority into marginal territory. Muslims should demonstrate that they can vote tactically in the Election and show malcontents such as Fitzpatrick the door.’’ More >
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics – Gilligan’s latest hate installment
Mar 14th
Andrew Gilligan’s latest diatribe is fast deteriorating into an anti-Muslim hate campaign built on deceptive language and a distortion of clear facts. Here are some of his quotes from his latest hate instalment in the Spectator, alongside our comments.
“The Islamic Forum of Europe is decried by most Muslims as vicious and unrepresentative, says Andrew Gilligan.”
So here “most Muslims” would equate to at least over 1million Muslims if we take a rough figure of 2 million Muslims in the UK – when did AG interview all these people or is he spewing lies again? More >
Niqabis (and non niqabis) have your say!
Mar 13th
Whether it is an obligation on Muslim women to wear the niqab or not is a matter of juridical difference. Scholars (new and old) have offered different views; some saying it is indeed an obligation while others have said it is not. Personally, I prefer the view which argues that although the wearing of the niqab is not an obligation, it nevertheless does have a basis in Islamic sources and thus should be a matter of choice for Muslim women. However the niqab and niqab wearing women have been receiving some very negative press in recent years. The most recent attack comes from Conservative MP Philip Holloborn. More >
