Some thoughts on the news, religion and life in general
Guest Contributor
The spy who betrayed me
Mar 10th
Guest Post by Abu Talha
So you meet a brother who feeds you the story that he has no money, he wants to learn about Islam and needs help because all his life he has associated with the ‘wrong crowd’. He tells you he has no family. He tells you about his past; stories about alcohol and drug abuse melts your heart. He wants to associate with you, and learn from you. What is a Muslim to do? Quite naturally you take this brother under your wings, and to the best of your ability, you help him. You don’t question him, nor do you judge him. You comfort him, and tell him that Allah is the giver of mercy and that it is your duty to help a fellow Muslim in difficulty. You are motivated by the Hadith you hear all the time. This is when you can actually put the words of the Messenger of Allah into action: More >
Qutb and the Jahiliyyah concept
Oct 20th
By Abu Muhammad
Syed Qutb’s accomplishments are without doubt. He struggled for justice and freedom and gave his life for that cause. We ask Allah to accept him among the Shuhada (martyrs) and the righteous. However, this does not mean that he or anyone else for that matter is immune from mistakes and error. Only the prophets of Allah are saved from this.
We do not blindly follow individuals, only the Prophet deserves that treatment. In the case of everyone else we should question and, if needed, correct them.
In his call for immunity from mixed cultural sources, Syed Qutb (as highlighted in my previous posts) made a mistake in regarding the whole of society as Jahili (in ignorance of Islam). This seems to go against the Islamic perspective of history and the succession of civilisations. More >
What I believe
Oct 18th
By Abu Muhammad
In ‘What I Believe’, Dr Tariq Ramadan’s latest book, he endeavours to clarify some of the misunderstood positions he holds. It is aimed at ordinary people, journalists, politicians, social workers, teachers and others, who do not have the time or perhaps sometimes the capacity to grasp the academic and philosophical language he employs in his writings. This book sets out to clarify the basic ideas which he has been advocating for more than twenty years.
This is long overdue. I have personally come across many people who attack and call Dr Ramadan and others of having deviant opinions and hence label him and the others like him of being deviant. When asked if they have read his works, the response almost always is in the negative. More >
Cultural mixing and the Qur’anic Generation
Oct 16th
By Abu Muhammad
During a visit to the local historical attractions, while a student in Amman (Jordan), a classmate made a remark which started an enthralling discussion on religion, culture and revival.
While admiring the remains and colosseums the Romans left behind, which still dominate parts of the Jordanian capital, my classmate commented, ‘when the Islamic revival or the Islamic state is established, these and other similar buildings should be destroyed – firstly because they remind us of the tragic history and the suffering of the Muslims, and secondly, these are un-Islamic and therefore, they ought be removed from Muslim lands’.
This depicts the sentiment of many people who, in the opinion of some writers, view the world and its development through a one-dimensional perspective. More >
The elephant in the room
Jul 15th
I have been following the discussion on ‘Rethinking the Niqab in the West’ and I think we need to step back a little and refocus the discussion on the substantive point of the discussion rather than go off on tangents. In my view there are two points:
1. The wearing of the Niqab in the West; and 2. The right to wear or not.
On the first point it is absolutely clear from the Shar’iah that the Niqab evokes two (I’m leaving the shades of grey out) opinions. Some say it is fard or wajib and others say it is not. There is no way to resolve this difference and we should simply take it as a benefit and thank Allah. More >
Combating the weak Gazi (combatant)
Apr 15th
A guest post by Abu Ghazi
We all enjoy occasional intellectual nourishment in the media – most of the time the papers provide us with enticing food for thought but, unfortunately, with the current war against Islam and all the media hype and distortions surrounding it, we scarcely find good articles with real substance and accuracy.
Since the war ‘against terrorism’ or Islam, we’ve had to endure people claiming to be overnight experts on Islam and the Muslims, from both Muslims and non-Muslim alike. Now, with the subsequent launch of the infamous contest 2 strategy, I’m anticipating more shoddy ‘experts’ of Islam to be given platform. I wonder, to what level the media and the government will stoop down to!
As I opened my email yesterday morning one of the first emails that caught my eye was a link to an article in the Guardian Comments is Free section by Faisal Gazi on Islam and secularism. Who you may ask? It’s Faisal Gazi, a software engineer by day and a writer and a blogger by night. There’s no end to the ramblings of the pseudo experts on Islamic political thought! More >
