I received the following Q & A in an email from the super-salafis over in Canada. The unoriginal title of the email was: "Pulling the Carpet from Under the Feet of the Takfeerist Cells that Exist in the West" and the fatwa is issued by Ahmed An-Najmi.
Question: Firstly, I love you for the sake of Allah and I ask Allah to preserve you just as He preserves all of His righteous servants. Here (in France), the French Government is appealing to the Salafis for their cooperation in capturing the Takfeerists[1]. In all actuality they are requesting that we work alongside them to catch these individuals. Is this something that the religion of Islam deems permissible or not -may Allah bless you?
Answer: Truthfully, the Takfeerists are considered to be enemies of Islam and enemies of the Muslims as they are responsible for actions that have harmed the Muslims. It is ok for (the Muslims) to point the (authorities) in their direction and to clarify what they are upon if they are certain about these people.[2]
The question that comes to my mind is that these super-salafis are so damn narrow-minded, they are likely to list Sayyid Qutb as a takfeeri, and by extension anyone who reads his works. So are they going to point the police to investigate brothers from Ikhwan al-Muslimeen?
An even more interesting question is, will the UK super-salafis use this fatwa as proof that they can co-operate with MI5, the same guys responsible for the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes and the Forest Gate debacle? I guess time will tell.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Thanks for the memories Thierry (sob)...
Arsenal have confirmed that Thierry is leaving. I am even more concerned now that Wenger will be heading for the exit gates at the end of next season. Failure to sign any significant players this summer can only mean that Wenger himself won't be at the club for too long, so how will he get major players to pledge their futures to the club?
Link: An open letter by Thierry Henry
Link: All fans should shed a tear
Link: Henry's last interview
Friday, June 22, 2007
Difficult few days ahead
The hearts of all Gooners must be in their mouths this evening with multiple reports coming from Spain that Arsenal captain, and legend, Thierry Henry is on the brink of signing for Barcelona.
Losing Henry is bad enough, but there are real fears that his exit will spark a stampede to the exit door by the club's other stars. First off, Arsene Wenger, the builder of two generations of great Arsenal sides looks like he will be off at the end of next season. I can't think of anyone in the world who could replace him (except perhaps Fabio Capello, and what are the chances of him coming to Ashburton Grove?) And after him Cesc Fabregas, arguably one of the world's best midfield talents.
So what then will become of Arsenal? I'm worried that the departure of David Dein earlier this season was the first in a line of dominos to fall and which will end Arsenal being in the football wilderness for years to come. In two years we have lost Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp, Cole, Lauren and Campbell. If we now lose Henry and Fabregas the club will be in utter ruins, and i don't think that the likes of Alexander "don't-know-how-to-shoot" Hleb or Tomas "i-like-to-party-with-call-girls" Rosicky are going to bring glory days back to Arsenal.
I hope the board aren't sitting on their arses doing nothing. They've got to stop this!
Losing Henry is bad enough, but there are real fears that his exit will spark a stampede to the exit door by the club's other stars. First off, Arsene Wenger, the builder of two generations of great Arsenal sides looks like he will be off at the end of next season. I can't think of anyone in the world who could replace him (except perhaps Fabio Capello, and what are the chances of him coming to Ashburton Grove?) And after him Cesc Fabregas, arguably one of the world's best midfield talents.
So what then will become of Arsenal? I'm worried that the departure of David Dein earlier this season was the first in a line of dominos to fall and which will end Arsenal being in the football wilderness for years to come. In two years we have lost Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp, Cole, Lauren and Campbell. If we now lose Henry and Fabregas the club will be in utter ruins, and i don't think that the likes of Alexander "don't-know-how-to-shoot" Hleb or Tomas "i-like-to-party-with-call-girls" Rosicky are going to bring glory days back to Arsenal.
I hope the board aren't sitting on their arses doing nothing. They've got to stop this!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Ugly bastard gets knighted
They're in a battle to try and win our hearts and minds. The British government that is.
Salman Rushdie has been awarded a Knighthood, and as a British Muslim i find this news quite hard to stomach. Not only is this another demonstration of what a shambles the whole honours system is, but by honouring a man who so gravely insulted Muslims by his portrayal of revered Muslim figures, the government, yes its the government, not the Queen, who decides who is honoured, have caused God knows what damage to relations between the Muslims and government.
The question that British Muslims have to ask themselves is, how does it sit with you that on the one hand, the Government says time and again that they're with the moderate Muslims, and then gives this detestable man, not just a CBE or an MBE, but a Knighthood? For surely, there isn't a Muslim anywhere who could feel pleased that the slanderer of the Messenger of Allah is given a prestigious award?
Now of course some will argue, that we here in the West have certain liberties and freedoms, and one of those is freedom of speech. And if you don't like that, well that's tough, you're just going to have to live with it.
I just wonder where these people were when David Irving was recently imprisoned in Austria for denying the holocaust. Is freedom of speech only for people whose views we don't really mind?
Not only have the government shot themselves in the foot by honouring this idiot, but in the battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims, they've armed the real extremists with another bullet. Another argument that will be used by those who seek to convince Muslims that integrating with British society is a bum deal, because no matter how integrated you do become, they will not cease to insult your religion.
From a Muslim's point of view, i also have to note how shameful it is that the first country to stand up to speak against Rushdie being honoured is Iran, followed four days later by Pakistan. Where are the rest of them?
Link: The battle for hearts and minds in Iraq
**Update** Joseph Corre turns down an MBE
Salman Rushdie has been awarded a Knighthood, and as a British Muslim i find this news quite hard to stomach. Not only is this another demonstration of what a shambles the whole honours system is, but by honouring a man who so gravely insulted Muslims by his portrayal of revered Muslim figures, the government, yes its the government, not the Queen, who decides who is honoured, have caused God knows what damage to relations between the Muslims and government.
The question that British Muslims have to ask themselves is, how does it sit with you that on the one hand, the Government says time and again that they're with the moderate Muslims, and then gives this detestable man, not just a CBE or an MBE, but a Knighthood? For surely, there isn't a Muslim anywhere who could feel pleased that the slanderer of the Messenger of Allah is given a prestigious award?
Now of course some will argue, that we here in the West have certain liberties and freedoms, and one of those is freedom of speech. And if you don't like that, well that's tough, you're just going to have to live with it.
I just wonder where these people were when David Irving was recently imprisoned in Austria for denying the holocaust. Is freedom of speech only for people whose views we don't really mind?
Not only have the government shot themselves in the foot by honouring this idiot, but in the battle for the hearts and minds of young Muslims, they've armed the real extremists with another bullet. Another argument that will be used by those who seek to convince Muslims that integrating with British society is a bum deal, because no matter how integrated you do become, they will not cease to insult your religion.
From a Muslim's point of view, i also have to note how shameful it is that the first country to stand up to speak against Rushdie being honoured is Iran, followed four days later by Pakistan. Where are the rest of them?
Link: The battle for hearts and minds in Iraq
**Update** Joseph Corre turns down an MBE
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Right-wing nuts encourage attack on US Mosque
Tariq Nelson has reported some disturbing news. Following the online publication of a malicious slander against his local mosque by white-supremacist nuts, he visited the Dar al-Hijrah mosque at Fajr time to find that someone had thrown a brick through a window.
Please also read this post by Umar Lee which details the dirty tactics employed by these nutters to try and ruin the reputation of this mosque and its leaders.
Please also read this post by Umar Lee which details the dirty tactics employed by these nutters to try and ruin the reputation of this mosque and its leaders.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ed (not) "The Islamist" Husain
Here are some late comments on the author of the book "The Islamist", Ed Husain. First off, i know that Ed is an assumed name because i went to college with him.
"Ed" is typical of the rabble that Omar Bakri Mohammed, an ex-leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, always drew to himself. Always with Ed it was, in the words of a mutual acquaintance, "all show and no substance" and in writing this book he has really made himself out to be more influential than he ever was.
For instance in this clip around the 5:30 mark, Ed claims that he radicalised all of his college resulting in the locality being full of women wearing the veil and men putting up posters. I'm sorry, but i know and he knows that his influence in bringing this about was very little.
At that time, and all the way through to the end of the 90s, there were two competing Muslim ideologies in the major London universities & colleges: the salafi and the HT. I can't think of a single campus where HT had a greater following than the salafis, and therefore, it was standard to see the salafis running the official college's "Islamic society". This gave them the position of selecting who delivered the well-attended Friday sermons, and also the main Wednesday afternoon lecture. By the time i was at university HT members were so desperate to gain power they resorted to paying Muslim students to vote for them in the student elections so that they could wrest control from the salafis.
Thus, if anyone is responsible for persuading the women to wear veils, it was the salafis and not Ed and his buddies. And a testament to this is that till today i see those same women who started wearing veils at college, still in veils, and still rejecting the empty sloganeering that Ed was known for.
For me the most important lesson is to continue to rely on Allah for His guidance. I could never have imagined that Husain would reject so much of Islam, the integration of religion with government, hadith from the Messenger of Allah, and more.
One final thing is that i find it interesting that very soon after OBM was discharged of the leadership of HT, this organisation matured alot more easy to have dialogue with; those that stayed with it have grown up to become very educated and nice people who i still have some contact with. On the other hand, AlMuhajiroon, the group that OBM then formed is marked by the wacky, separationist slogans that its followers still chant and almost unanimous dislike by the rest of the Muslim community. There's something about Bakri...
Link: a more in-depth look at the book (read the comment made by Kashif Nawaz)
Link: Excellent post by Sumayyah Evans who also has links to comments on this book posted by other bloggers.
"Ed" is typical of the rabble that Omar Bakri Mohammed, an ex-leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, always drew to himself. Always with Ed it was, in the words of a mutual acquaintance, "all show and no substance" and in writing this book he has really made himself out to be more influential than he ever was.
For instance in this clip around the 5:30 mark, Ed claims that he radicalised all of his college resulting in the locality being full of women wearing the veil and men putting up posters. I'm sorry, but i know and he knows that his influence in bringing this about was very little.
At that time, and all the way through to the end of the 90s, there were two competing Muslim ideologies in the major London universities & colleges: the salafi and the HT. I can't think of a single campus where HT had a greater following than the salafis, and therefore, it was standard to see the salafis running the official college's "Islamic society". This gave them the position of selecting who delivered the well-attended Friday sermons, and also the main Wednesday afternoon lecture. By the time i was at university HT members were so desperate to gain power they resorted to paying Muslim students to vote for them in the student elections so that they could wrest control from the salafis.
Thus, if anyone is responsible for persuading the women to wear veils, it was the salafis and not Ed and his buddies. And a testament to this is that till today i see those same women who started wearing veils at college, still in veils, and still rejecting the empty sloganeering that Ed was known for.
For me the most important lesson is to continue to rely on Allah for His guidance. I could never have imagined that Husain would reject so much of Islam, the integration of religion with government, hadith from the Messenger of Allah, and more.
One final thing is that i find it interesting that very soon after OBM was discharged of the leadership of HT, this organisation matured alot more easy to have dialogue with; those that stayed with it have grown up to become very educated and nice people who i still have some contact with. On the other hand, AlMuhajiroon, the group that OBM then formed is marked by the wacky, separationist slogans that its followers still chant and almost unanimous dislike by the rest of the Muslim community. There's something about Bakri...
Link: a more in-depth look at the book (read the comment made by Kashif Nawaz)
Link: Excellent post by Sumayyah Evans who also has links to comments on this book posted by other bloggers.
Friday, June 01, 2007
First jinn experience
Recently i received word that an acquaintance of mine was experiencing some jinn-type problems. I went to visit him a couple of days ago and I want to post some details of what happened. Lets call this person A.
I've known A for many years, and in terms of jinn related things, i know that he is quite superstitious, and thats no surprise because he is a pakistani and in my experience Pakistanis all too readily attribute misfortune to the jinn. Health problems? Its because of the jinn. Marital problems? Its because of the jinn.
Person A has been going through a hard time recently so was under great strain already. For some reason he went to a "Pir" who he believed could help diagnose whether his recent problems had anything to do with the jinn. Lets call this "jinn-master", Papa Shango.
Papa Shango told A that, in fact, not one, but several jinn were trying to hurt him and that it would be a lengthy process to get rid of these jinn.
When a mutual friend of mine and A's told me that something serious was up, i decided to pay A a visit. By Allah grace, that day i also knew of a knowledgable brother who was passing through London who i guessed knew something about jinn. It turned out he did, and had actually accompanied a proper "jinn-exorciser" on numerous occasions during the latter's work. So i spoke to him and he gave me some advice on what to do if i felt that the jinn were involved.
I went over to see A and right off i felt that there was something different. Not something that i would straight off attribute to jinn, but imagine that you've known someone for years and years and then one day you meet them and they're acting odd - you'll pick up on it straightaway, and thats how i felt. For example, A would tell me that the jinn were in his head and then start hitting the palm of his hand on his head for 10 - 15 seconds repeatedly. He would say crazy stuff and start telling off family members. Also, i saw A flicking his tongue in and out out like a snake or a lizard would.
So stuff like that just made me feel that something was not right and i decided to follow the advice of that brother who i'd spoken to earlier on the phone.
I poured some water in a glass and bringing it it close to my mouth I recited the following over it:
After i'd blown into the water i handed it to A to drink. He sipped it down with some difficulty saying that "they" were trying to stop him drinking it. Then, i decided to recite some Qur'an over A. So i started reading parts of the Qur'an to A, and what happened was the following.
For the most part, A either listened to my recitation or recited with me. But on two occasions, A's voice changed noticeably and he started reciting the Qur'an in a quite mocking and disrespectful manner. Woah! i thought, this definitely has the air of the jinn about it!
During the rest of the hour i was with A, he would swing between being more like his normal self, and then start acting strange again. I recited some more Qur'an over him, but i didn't feel like anything else was happening, and since this was my first real-life jinn experience, i felt like i'd done what i could for the evening.
I've tried to get in touch with brothers who i trust in this sort of issue to try and help A. But at the same time A and his family still want to visit Papa Shango.
The problem with Papa Shango is that i think he is some charlatan. First off, he is making big money out of diagnosing and then "curing" people of their jinn problems. That makes me suspicious straight off. Second of all, his base of operations is a halal butcher's shop. wth?!
I have heard that other members of A's family have been visiting him and everyone seems to be told that they have a problem, or someone else is trying to use the jinn to cause them problems, (but thankfully of course he is on hand to help them - for a fee of course) so for the family, its turning into a fitnah, whereas, for Papa Shango, its turning into good business.
I hope and pray that Allah cures A and encourage you to do the same.
I've known A for many years, and in terms of jinn related things, i know that he is quite superstitious, and thats no surprise because he is a pakistani and in my experience Pakistanis all too readily attribute misfortune to the jinn. Health problems? Its because of the jinn. Marital problems? Its because of the jinn.
Person A has been going through a hard time recently so was under great strain already. For some reason he went to a "Pir" who he believed could help diagnose whether his recent problems had anything to do with the jinn. Lets call this "jinn-master", Papa Shango.
Papa Shango told A that, in fact, not one, but several jinn were trying to hurt him and that it would be a lengthy process to get rid of these jinn.
When a mutual friend of mine and A's told me that something serious was up, i decided to pay A a visit. By Allah grace, that day i also knew of a knowledgable brother who was passing through London who i guessed knew something about jinn. It turned out he did, and had actually accompanied a proper "jinn-exorciser" on numerous occasions during the latter's work. So i spoke to him and he gave me some advice on what to do if i felt that the jinn were involved.
I went over to see A and right off i felt that there was something different. Not something that i would straight off attribute to jinn, but imagine that you've known someone for years and years and then one day you meet them and they're acting odd - you'll pick up on it straightaway, and thats how i felt. For example, A would tell me that the jinn were in his head and then start hitting the palm of his hand on his head for 10 - 15 seconds repeatedly. He would say crazy stuff and start telling off family members. Also, i saw A flicking his tongue in and out out like a snake or a lizard would.
So stuff like that just made me feel that something was not right and i decided to follow the advice of that brother who i'd spoken to earlier on the phone.
I poured some water in a glass and bringing it it close to my mouth I recited the following over it:
- 7 x al-Fatiha
- 1 X Ayatul-Kursee
- 3 X Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and surah an-Nas
- Last two verses of al-Baqara
After i'd blown into the water i handed it to A to drink. He sipped it down with some difficulty saying that "they" were trying to stop him drinking it. Then, i decided to recite some Qur'an over A. So i started reading parts of the Qur'an to A, and what happened was the following.
For the most part, A either listened to my recitation or recited with me. But on two occasions, A's voice changed noticeably and he started reciting the Qur'an in a quite mocking and disrespectful manner. Woah! i thought, this definitely has the air of the jinn about it!
During the rest of the hour i was with A, he would swing between being more like his normal self, and then start acting strange again. I recited some more Qur'an over him, but i didn't feel like anything else was happening, and since this was my first real-life jinn experience, i felt like i'd done what i could for the evening.
I've tried to get in touch with brothers who i trust in this sort of issue to try and help A. But at the same time A and his family still want to visit Papa Shango.
The problem with Papa Shango is that i think he is some charlatan. First off, he is making big money out of diagnosing and then "curing" people of their jinn problems. That makes me suspicious straight off. Second of all, his base of operations is a halal butcher's shop. wth?!
I have heard that other members of A's family have been visiting him and everyone seems to be told that they have a problem, or someone else is trying to use the jinn to cause them problems, (but thankfully of course he is on hand to help them - for a fee of course) so for the family, its turning into a fitnah, whereas, for Papa Shango, its turning into good business.
I hope and pray that Allah cures A and encourage you to do the same.
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