Here are a collection of limericks, short and snappy, through which a variety of religious themes and faith-based issues are served-up as quirks, curiosities and, of course, food for thought:

I

A lad who watched Starsky & Hutch,
Then got the Khawarij-like touch.
As his raged unfurled,
He said: ‘I must change the world.
‘I can’t, coz I love it too much!’

II

A young man from near Runnymede;
Said we must now all reject taqlid.
I asked him the proof,
He then hit the roof,
‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘I can’t even read!’

III

A bro who once lived with his mummy;
Wanted street cred more than some money.
‘Shall I be a mufti,
Or takfiri jihadi?’
So he went and bought Islam for a Dummy.

IV

An unemployed man called Nabeel,
Said, ‘counter terrorism’s a lucrative deal’.
He kicked up a storm,
Called for Islamic reform,
He’s now so rich, it’s unreal.*

V

There once was a sufi with beads,
Who was terribly impressed with his deeds,
The salafi, he scorned;
‘You’ve no purity,’ he warned;
With his self he was O so well-pleased.

__________________
*Co written with Ozzy Nujjoo.