After delivery and assembly of my furniture yesterday, the two delivery men took a little time out for coffee. One of them, looking at my bookshelf said, “the noble Qur’an and the Glorious Qur’an, what’s the difference?” I told him “no difference, it’s just different names. They are translations of the Qur’an” Continue reading Dinner over two hours multiplied by 2 million Muslims
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‘May you live in interesting times’ is thought to be an ancient Chinese proverb used for the purpose of cursing. As Muslims we are forbidden to curse people. The prophet Muhammad, even after the cruel inhumane persecution he and his followers encountered during Islam’s infancy, never resorted to cursing his enemies Continue reading May you live in interesting times I was invited as a guest, along with Ed Husain (Quilliam Foundation) on Islam Channel’s ‘Politics and Media’ show – or so I thought. As it turned out, Ed was not happy to be on a live show with me. His voice broke, his face screwed up with disdain, and the whites of his eyes were plain to see as he retorted, “I’m not going on if he is” Continue reading The folly of engagement Channel 4’s Shari’ah TV was once again on our screens; the fifth series was broadcast from New York. As usual the nature of these types of programmes is to a create some sort of controversy and debate, and many of the questions posed during the course of the discussions did generate just that. As someone who has interfaith discussions and dialogue with the local vicar, I was particularly interested in the third programme, ‘Pluralism and Interfaith dialogue’. There were three experts on the panel. Imam Yahya Hendi from Georgetown University, the first American university to hire a full-time Muslim chaplain, is apparently a sought after international speaker on interfaith issues. Then there was Daisy Khan, co-founder of the American society for Muslim advancement. She lectures on religious pluralism across the United States and around the world, and is one of many pseudo-experts on Islam after 9/11. This is the Rumi version of Islam: all religions are truth Continue reading Shari’ah TV: Pluralism and Interfaith dialogue Melanie Phillips, mostly known as the attack-dog for Israel, recently wrote in the Daily Mail: ‘The reason so many older British Muslims are traditionally moderate is that they were brought up in the Asian subcontinent under a tamed form of Islam, deriving from centuries of colonial rule, which glossed over much of the teaching of the religion.’ Cue Hazel Blears, Communities Secretary, who promptly declares the establishment of a new board to advise Muslims on Islam. I wonder whether this new board will ‘gloss’ over the teachings of Islam? Continue reading Blears takes the advice of Israel’s attack-dog Walking along the Strand (lost in the swarms of city workers and feeling generally very small and insignificant, but that’s another story), I happened to notice an advert on a passing bus. Now I make a pointed effort to not look at adverts of any shape or form – my lowering gaze covers a broad range – because they’re all either inappropriate or designed to brainwash, or both. But this particular one did catch my eye. |
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