I log onto my Facebook account and am faced immediately by the comment; ‘migrants and Muslim/Islam that cause sh*t have gotten away with thier cr*p for too long…im not racist but if u live in this country then respect our rules…we have to in urs..’ and the depth of hostility towards Muslims finally hit home. Aside from the obvious obscenities and bad grammar, the comment seems to encapsulate a generally accepted antagonistic attitude towards Islam, despite the individual’s assurances that they are, indeed, ‘not racist’. Well that’s a relief, because had you not said that, I . . . → Read More: Reflections of a Western Muslim]]> http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2011/03/02/reflections-of-a-western-muslim/feed/ 14 http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2010/03/10/the-spy-who-betrayed-me/ http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2010/03/10/the-spy-who-betrayed-me/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:54:06 +0000 Guest Contributor http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/?p=1077 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 . . . → Read More: The spy who betrayed me]]> http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2010/03/10/the-spy-who-betrayed-me/feed/ 46 http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/20/qutb-and-the-jahiliyyah-concept/ http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/20/qutb-and-the-jahiliyyah-concept/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:24:27 +0000 Guest Contributor http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/?p=626 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 . . . → Read More: Qutb and the Jahiliyyah concept]]> http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/20/qutb-and-the-jahiliyyah-concept/feed/ 30 http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/18/what-i-believe/ http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/18/what-i-believe/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:40:16 +0000 Guest Contributor http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/?p=617 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 . . . → Read More: What I believe]]> http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/18/what-i-believe/feed/ 220 http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/16/cultural-mixing-and-the-quranic-generation/ http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/10/16/cultural-mixing-and-the-quranic-generation/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:06:18 +0000 Guest Contributor http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/?p=611 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’.

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 . . . → Read More: The elephant in the room]]> http://blog.islamicforumeurope.com/2009/07/15/the-elephant-in-the-room/feed/ 0