“When will it be right to be Muslim and gay?”
Background The above question has been the subject of a lingering controversy over the last few weeks, spawning heated, emotional…
“We only die once” – Turkey’s Call to Arms to protect Jerusalem
Turkey says it has been rallying together an international peacekeeping force as the world looks on in horror at the…
“Vote Today; Be Kafir Tomorrow”: The Issue of Voting
That season of jostling for space to express a view on voting has once again descended upon the population here…
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Reflections on and from Istanbul
Introduction I must have looked quite a sight sitting by the river late at night observing all the hustle and bustle and writing in my book. In fact the few individuals who came up to me to ask what I was doing may well have wondered whether the ‘polis’ in…
Mercy of Lord!
Pen that lifts! Ink that flows...
The Liberation of Sex
Put the words Islam and sex together and it seems you almost have an oxymoron. It is a fact that in the early Middle Ages Islam was seen by the West as a religion which promoted promiscuity and those who followed it as sexually perverse. Now, when the West has…
Jihad – The Solution?
The counter-terrorism policies that are being suggested in the wake of the attempted attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalib are indicative of a return to the Bush/Blair style policies that have led to the intense criminalisation and marginalisation of Muslims around the world. Instead of the question ‘why?’ being put forward,…
Ignorant Desire
How it feels for my lonely heart...
Critical Imagination
It is thought by some that natural science has a deadening influence on the imagination... But the experience of the last hour must, I think, have convinced you that the study of natural science goes hand in hand with the culture of the imagination. Throughout the greater part of this…
Reflecting on the Hajj: 2009
When you come back from Hajj, the question which you are inevitably faced with is, “How was it?” The strange thing is, you can’t really answer the question even if you try. This is because the sacred journey of Hajj is without any exaggeration, the most intensely, exhausting and difficult…
Mimbar-rising
This essay is divided into two parts; the first is a sociology of the institution of the mosque, while the second is a theorisation of the role mosques can play in social change. My analysis will bear a triadic focus looking in turn at the dynamism of the mosque as…
In Search of Intellectual Charlotte
The stars all observed in...
Gaza: The Spark that Ignited the Ummah
Gaza - the word that will forever remain etched in the hearts and minds of generations upon generations of people all over the world. For Muslims, it will be proudly remembered as the time when it became apparent that the pulse of the Ummah was still beating, albeit faintly, but…
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Why are new Muslims leaving Islam?
“I don’t know if you can help me; I don’t even know where to start.…
Attractive Hijabs & Shari’ah
Living in the west, the hijab has become a potent indicator of identity with many…
A James O’Brien masterclass in how to deal with people demanding Muslims apologise for #Charliehebdo
http://audioboom.com/boos/2784684-a-james-o-brien-masterclass-in-how-to-deal-with-people-demanding-that-muslims-apologise-for-charliehebdo/ Read today's post: In response to last night's shocking BBC Panorama by Dr Salman Butt Read…
Reply from Dr. Haitham Al-Haddad to allegations made in the Daily Mail & Sunday Times newspaper
I was deeply saddened on Sunday morning to see the article in your newspaper maligning…
