politics & society
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British Muslims & their Strategies for Living in the UK
In H.G. Wells’ The Sleeper Awakes, Graham, a troubled insomniac in 1890s England, falls into a sleep-like trance that he does not awake from for over two hundred years. When he finally does come out of his slumber, he awakens to a world with wondrous technological trappings, yet staggering social injustice and growing unrest. Horrified… Continue reading
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The Rabble, the Ruwaybidah & We the People (Pt 2)
This is the second part of the blog piece I wrote for http://www.islamicate.co.uk (the first part may be read here). After the battle of Hunayn, a delegation from the Hawazin clan came to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, requesting the return of their wealth and captives. They were given a choice between one or… Continue reading
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The Rabble, the Ruwaybidah & We the People (Pt 1)
One hadith foretells: ‘There shall come upon people years of deceit in which the liar will be believed, the truthful one disbelieved, the treacherous will be trusted and the trustworthy one considered treacherous; and the Ruwaybidah will speak out.’ It was said: Who are the Ruwaybidah? The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied: ‘The lowly,… Continue reading
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The Arab Spring & the Need for Change
The following article was first published at www.islamicate.co.uk and is reposted here with kind permission and addition. Wherever we look in the world today, particularly in what is called the Arab world, it’s all about people wanting change: change that brings about better governance, social justice, individual freedom, better job prospects, brighter future. Decades of tyranny, repression and authoritarian rule… Continue reading
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Terrorism is to Jihad as Adultery is to Marriage
For the past four days I had been working on the following article, which I intended to post yesterday evening. However, I then heard about the vile and sadistic act of violence carried out by two men with knives and a meat cleaver in Woolwich. So I thought it best to review the blog post in… Continue reading
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Takfir: Its Dangers & Rules
Takfir – accusing a fellow Muslim of apostasy; of having left the fold of Islam and being a disbeliever (kafir) – is indeed a grave affair in Islam. It is a fitnah, or “sedition,” whose flames were historically put out by the defeat of the Kharijites (khawarij), only to be set alight again in our times, on a global scale,… Continue reading
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Big Brother: Who Watches Who?
During the first half of the twentieth century, many books were written which warned about the dangers of giving the state control over new and powerful technologies. The nightmare visions of society these books conjured up have left an indelible mark upon our collective consciousness and subsequent social and historical development. George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldoux… Continue reading
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When Will Our Lands Return to Us?
A young man enters a gathering in which an elderly scholar is addressing an audience. Clearly agitated, the young man struggles to wait for a pause in the scholar’s speech in order to interject. Finding his moment, the man gets up to say his piece. Voice raised and angry, he asks (or rather he shouts):… Continue reading
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The Juggernaut of Modernity
Islam is an inherently conservative tradition, in the sense that a cardinal tenet of such a tradition is to conserve and preserve revealed truths, defending them against attack. Pivotal to this preservation are the ‘ulema or religious scholars. One hadith says: ‘This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy of each generation. They shall rid… Continue reading
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The Conditional Promise: When Will Allah’s Help Come?
That Muslim social and political well-being is the result of sure faith and obedience to God, and not visa-versa, is borne out by the Qur’an in many a verse. Whilst analysing the verse, God will surely help those who help Him, [22:40] Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti (d.1393H/1972CE), the highly acclaimed Mauritanian scholar of Islamic legal theory (usul… Continue reading