I believe that many people take to the advice of someone they respect rather than the advice itself. I remember many years ago, advising a brother about an issue and he did not take me seriously. Another brother who was well respected said almost exactly what I had said and the respondent took his advice on rather than mine. And this used to be the case for many of us in that we wouldn’t accept evidence unless it was from a particular scholar. In many cases of life, the messenger has more of a bearing in our thoughts and actions than the message itself.

There is no doubt that the message must be presented in the best possible way, but as Muslims, we should be more objective and accept the truth in whatever form it comes – otherwise we are just followers of personalities and not the content. Ibn Qayim once wrote when disagreeing with Shaykh and Murabbi, Ibn Taymiyyah: I love him greatly, but I love the truth more.

Taking it a bit further and looking at it in another angle, why is it unacceptable for a white person to say the ‘n’ word if it not used in a derogatory manner and allowed by a black person? Why is Bernard manning (White British comedian) considered to be racist and not Russell Peters (Asian comedian) when they both make jokes about blacks, whites and Asians etc…

The election of a new leader for one of the World’s powerful countries usually comes accompanied by some form of analysis, fatwa or condemnation from one camp or another of the Muslims with regards whether or not to vote. I am in no way qualified, insightful or analytical enough to even think about writing a discourse of the benefits or harms, or lawfulness of otherwise of voting in new leaders through the Western liberal democratic system. However, with the election of Barack Obama as the new President of the USA, one can see occurrences that are not too uncommon in times of elections. Is it from paranoia or is it with some justification that I hold some cynicism after observing such occurrences among the Muslims?

One observations is that often, among the Muslim masses, you will find those who vote for one leader over another, without the considerations of choosing the lesser evil, or picking the situation with more benefits than harms, relative to the other side. Even if one were to agree voting to be permissible in some scenarios, would it not worry us that some Muslims, out of a lack of awareness of the principles of governance in Islam, pick one of the leaders regardless of the Islamic considerations? Even worse, perhaps some would think that liberal democracy is the appropriate system for our times? Does this show a fundamental flaw in a creedal aspect among some Muslims that needs to be addressed, that perhaps we are shutting our eyes to? Despite the controversy and differences among our scholars on the issue of voting and participating in non-Islamic systems, it is a matter of consensus that the Islamic system is the best and only justifiable, appropriate and permissible system for mankind to implement for the governance of society, according to one’s ability.

The second scenario is that of those Muslims who are aware of Islamic issues in general, and who vote, and encourage voting based on one of the various edicts permitting voting in a non-Islamic system for one reason or another – still realising that the law of Allah is the best and only system appropriate for all of mankind. But how many of us have subconsciously given in to the liberal democratic system, by basing our political vision purely on promoting Islamic issues through a non-Islamic system? Perhaps that is not the case with many of us; and that we will jump back and claim we are working on grassroots issues at the same time. If we really are working at the grassroots level, striving to effect change through discussion, debate and promoting the virtues of Islam over and above those of the modern political paradigm, then perhaps, insha’Allah, we are safe from falling into this trap. Perhaps.

The Prophet (sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) stated: “Whoever sees something evil should change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot do even that, then in his heart. That is the weakest degree of faith.”

It is not uncommon today to find Muslims jumping from one extreme end of the spectrum to another. The current fad is for former ‘Islamists’, once waving the ‘voting is kufr and the one who votes is a kafir’ card, to finally ‘see the light’ in the ‘true guidance’ that is liberal secular democracy, whilst still clinging on to the nominal title of Islam. But I wonder how many Muslims, disenchanted by their efforts to effect change through years of voting, will suddenly leap to the conclusion that voting is unanimously and unconditionally haram and kufr because they didn’t get what they wanted through political lobbying? Even if that view were the more correct one, would it have been based on logic and rationale, embedded in the light of revelation, or rather emotion and reactivity? Perhaps one would do justice to themselves and their souls to avoid jumping on one bandwagon or another, before they have even begun to grasp the knowledge of the whole picture of what Islam wants from us. Should we not continually ask Allah to keep us humble, and avoid the pitfalls of those who were lead astray due to their arrogance and over-confidence?

So I hear now that ‘extremist Islam’ is a disease needing treatment with cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

CBT is a psychotherapeutic technique aimed at treating those with a wide variety of mental illnesses such as depression, phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorders. It aims at changing one’s behaviour through irrationalising an individual’s false beliefs that lead to them doing things that interfere with their life. For example, a CBT therapist may discuss and reason through with one afraid of flying, the safety of flying over driving in a car, etc. All of this in order to allow them to travel conveniently by plane travelling abroad.

CBT for Muslim inmates may help those less zealous in their extreme beliefs, apparently.

“So today we’ll start by talking about why you’re so angry.”
“I’ve been in prison for four years.”
“Yes, let’s explore that. What was your conviction?”
“Haven’t had a trial yet.”

Something tells me we’re gonna go round in circles a bit…

If you’re as finance-illiterate as I am, most probably you’ve been having a bit of trouble trying to find the forest for all the trees in the current turmoil that is turning out to be one of the most troubling situations of the capitalist West: the credit crunch and the resulting global economic meltdown.

Muslim financial experts in the West, notable amongst them Tarek Diwany, have been talking about the ‘Problem with Interest’ for many years now; I for one – despite my unwavering conviction in the falsity of such a system – had difficulty trying to demonstrate the actual chink in the armour that is the riba-ridden capitalist system. Particularly when so many Muslims would use the interest-based system to fill up their own wallets quite nicely. It couldn’t go wrong! Or so we thought.

For those who are in a similar place to me, I recommend reading the following articles and watching the following film that collectively cover some of the basics of the credit crunch, the global financial world and Islamic finance

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7521250.stm

http://www.eco-tube.com/v/KNOW/Money_Is_Debt.aspx

http://www.islamic-finance.com/item147_f.htm

‘This is not the time or place to debate the proposition or the definitions Amis employs, though I would say, in a general response to the generalised argument, that I have seen, at times, rather more respect for civil society, from how they treat their families and the elderly to strangers in the street, in Damascus, Ramallah and east Jerusalem than I have seen, at times, in London, New York and Paris. Equally, when he says, “Here in the west we have the most evolved society in the world and we are not blowing people up”, it is hard not to think of the ghosts of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Muslim dead from Iraq to Afghanistan who might take issue with him. No, here the salient point is that Amis, contrary to his assertions, is talking about Islam, not Islamism, Muslims, not Islamists.
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“Fifty Quid for Dinner?!!!” the brother almost screamed at me.

I realised the problem – he had scanned the leaflet and mentally totted up the list of speakers, the venue, the three course meal against half a dozen other Muslim entertainment events in his mind - a mixed bunch of Nasheed concerts, Halal Comedy nights, I-Soc dinners and Eid celebrations and felt that he was being short changed.

The problem was he was comparing apples with oranges and just didn’t know. He looked at the names on the flyers and didn’t recognise half of them.

He had failed to comprehend that this was not just another event – it was something quite unique.

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Last night I picked up a copy of a newspaper and saw the face of Afia Siddiqui. She is another open wound in the body of the Ummah. I feel ashamed I can’t help her or take revenge against those who made her suffer and continue to do so.

Where are the Muslim leaders? Do they have any faith in their hearts or honour? Afia is woman and a mother abducted and tortured only because she is a Muslim. Only Allah knows what inhumane barbaric treatment she has endured at the hands of the American savages and their obedient dogs (those who sold themselves and Muslims to the crusaders).

Where are the leaders? Who will defend the honour of the Ummah?

Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf was a tyrant of the past. His tyranny is well recorded in History. Nevertheless even he had some honour as a man and as one who saw himself as a Muslim ruler. When a Muslim woman was taken captive in India she cried out ‘Oh Hajjaj’. When this reached him he responded ‘Labbaik, (I am here at your call)’. It is reported that he spent a huge amount of wealth to save her.
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In response to the FBI admission that disappeared Aafia Siddiqui is in custody in Afghanistan, alive but injured, Asim Qureshi, Senior Researcher for Cageprisoners, issued the following statement:

There are many questions that the FBI and the Pakistani government need to answer in light of this admission. Where is Aafia currently held, and in whose custody? Where are her children? How has she been injured and does she have sufficient access to medical care? Why has she never been charged with any crime, and why have the FBI continued to pretend to be seeking her while all the while knowing of her detention in Afghanistan? Is Aafia indeed Prisoner 650 whose screams was heard by former Bagram prisoners?
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I am currently attending the alMaghrib ‘Ilm Summit in Texas Houston and would like to share some of what I have benefited from. Everyday we have 15mins on Adab (Manners) and today Shaikh Yasir Birjis spoke about the importance of good company for the student of knowledge. He said that their are three types of friends:-

1) Companions of convenience - one may meet, greet, and spend time with them when its suits one another but when the convenience of the meeting subsides, so too does the friendship. This relationship is quite selfish in nature as it is based of personal benefit alone so both parties only want to be around each other for a need they have- which is usually only worldly. Generally speaking the student of knowledge will automatically marginalize such friends as his social circles are of a different nature.
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How great is He who created us all, and made inherent within us our weakness, our fragile natures, our emotional lability, our forgetfulness. How great is He who made us like this and despite this is so Merciful to us that He provides us with trials and tests as opportunities for us to try and sift out the evil effects of these traits that we, some more than others, use to indulge ourselves in this life so deeply. So deeply that any human being who has the audacity to take another man as an object of worship is truly seen as an irrational ignoramus by anyone with an atom’s weight of eman in his Lord and Creator.

SubhanAllah. Far exalted is He above that place we consign Him to. That place in many of our hearts, regrettably, which arrogantly considers itself noble just because we care to think of Him when it is convenient for us.
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