Peace, bruv

New blog

2007-10-16T00:42:00.000+01:00

I've set up a new blog with WordPress here: http://peacebruv.wordpress.com

If anyone is linking to this one, please update the link to point to the new one.

zakatul-fitr

2007-10-07T18:16:00.000+01:00

For the first time, i had the opportunity this year to give zakatul-fitr as food instead of money. I dropped the food off to the family last night and I have a few thoughts regarding the whole thing:

1) For those of us who take the opinion that you don't have to give the same food types that were given in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, we should produce a list which is appropriate for our own environment, and which extends to more than just giving rice and flour. One brother told me that he visited a poor brother who had something like 200kg of rice donated to him! What I gave is the following:
- rice
- pasta
- cereals
- packs of frozen chips (hey if chips aren't a stable food in the UK, nothing is)
- meat (after speaking to my teacher about it)

2) Do we have organisations that make a concerted effort to distribute zakah here in the UK before sending it abroad? I'm only aware of one: JIMAS. There are certainly people here in the UK to give it to. A few years ago a brother told me that he went to visit a convert, and found the brother cupping his hands round a lit candle to stay warm because he didn't have enough money to pay the gas/electricity bill.

3) Generosity. When i was collecting the food (before i'd decided to give the meat) i thought that if someone gave me x kilos of rice and pasta, that would be nice but it would be quite bland tasting. What would be great would be to provide the spices and all that other stuff that would make it taste fabulous. Well, i wasn't going to go spice shopping so in addition, i gave some money to the family so that they could buy what additional ingredients they needed, and which might not fall under the category of "staple foods". And i'm sure there are brothers out there who have enough wealth that if they get the chance to give zakatul fitr as food, would be able to give some extra money as well. After all, Ramadan is the month of charity right?

Click here for an excellent post on the subject by Sh. Yasir Qadhi

Two links

2007-10-03T14:41:00.000+01:00

Two posts from Tariq Nelson discussing the phenomenon of anti-muslim people often being anti-black racists too.

Here and here.

So thats why...

2007-09-21T10:28:00.000+01:00

At the time i couldn't think why the Americans had re-elected Dubya. Hadn't they been watching the news? Didn't they know how unpopular he was all around the world?

Today i found out why he got re-elected...

Taraweeh prayers

2007-09-16T00:52:00.000+01:00

I'd been ill since the start of the week so i wasn't able to make it to taraweeh prayers until Friday night. Not exactly the start to Ramadan that i was hoping for, but there are still 26 days to gain reward from.

Over the years i've found that the best Imams to pray taraweeh behind are the trained Imams who are ethnically Arab. Since they've grown up speaking the language of the Qur'an, their recitation has all the correct inflections, and the emphases are made in all the right places. A great example is the Egyptian Imam who is leading at East London Mosque this year. It really is a joy to pray behind him and if anyone is able to make it there I really recommend that you head out there one evening.

The worst recitors are the desi Imams in most Hanafi mosques here who don't understand Arabic. Their sole aim seems to be to finish their recitation and get the hell out of the mosque as quick as possible. The recitation combines between bad tajweed and being incomprehensible and unfortunately tonight i found myself behind one such Imam. After two rak'aat i was thinking, what the hell am i doing here? It wasn't a pleasure to listen the recitation because it was going at 100mph, and because it was so fast, i couldn't understand what he was reading - and I'm talking about parts of the Qur'an i've memorised. I'm not going to be praying taraweeh at that mosque again. But i am looking forward to visiting the Moroccan Mosque in Ladbroke Grove to pray behind the Imam who follows the recitation of Warsh. I'll extract a portion of his recitation from a couple of years ago and stick it up here later.

Update: Here is the promised audio clip [~3 Mb]

He didn't drop out of the clear blue sky

2007-09-07T23:44:00.000+01:00

Over the last year or so, i've read with some unease a growing number of attacks on people like Bin Laden, and in particular these attacks come from our American brothers.

The unease isn't because i agree with Bin Laden or his wayward understanding of jihad (as i've mentioned several times before); the unease is because the attacks on him have now descended to nothing more than what you'd expect from a Robert Spencer fan. Previously he was referred to just as a maniac, but Umar Lee in his most recent post likens him to a turd. hmm...

Some of his readers are no better. Abu Sinan also has a bone to pick with bin Laden: apparently he is vain for dyeing his beard black. Solaimaan calls bin Laden a wild baboon and so on.

Worst of all is the affirmation of these usually intelligent bloggers (Solaimaan excluded) that all Bin Laden wants to do is "to see the streets flow red with the blood of millions." It seems that the FOX news they despise so much isn't without effect on them. I think its foolish to believe that Bin Laden is that one-dimensional. Even a cursory glance over his speeches shows that there is more to the man then what the right-wing media would have us believe.

In a country where many brothers are now too frightened to write to innocent imprisoned Muslims for fear of getting a knock at the door, could it be that these American brothers feel they have something to prove?

Lawless Britain

2007-08-25T22:10:00.000+01:00

Its with great sadness that i read the story of another young victim of UK gun crime. Rhys Jones, a young boy only 11 years old was gunned down for no reason at all whilst walking home from football training.

I've said it before, and i'll say it again: crime in the UK is only going to get worse until we bring in more punitive justice for these crimes. The UK prison population has never been higher and is struggling to cope with the daily intake of criminals, and a complacent government is letting those who committed "softer" crimes out earlier and earlier (though even paedophiles are in with a chance of early release). In short, criminals have got nothing to fear when committing a crime because for them, the consequences aren't too bad.

Growing numbers of the indigenous population of this country are leaving these shores citing crime being out of control as one of their main reasons for leaving. I've even been thinking of it myself!

A work colleague told me the other day that when he was a kid he used to stay busy after school
with basketball practise and other sports and that way he wasn't drawn into the wrong crowd. He tells me that he keeps his son busy with football practise after school in the hope that he will follow his father into a professional career.

The problem in the UK today is that if you're fortunate enough not to be drawn into the wrong crowd when you were young, as with Rhys Jones, the wrong crowd might come looking for you. Rest in peace Rhys, and may Allah give comfort to your family.

Imam @ Regents Park Mosque attacked

2007-08-14T23:24:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to bring to your attention a grizzly attack on the Imam of London's Central Mosque. Reports suggest that the Imam was repeatedly punched in the face, and an attempt was made to gouge out his eyes resulting in him losing a lot of blood and hospitalisation.

The police are keeping an "open mind" about the incident, as they always do. The Independent plots a timeline at the bottom of this article highlighting attacks on Muslims and Muslim businesses since the end of July and it doesn't make for pretty reading.

In any case, keep the Imam in your du'as. Regents Park Mosque has a tradition of hiring amiable Imams from Egypt, and i have no reason to believe that he was otherwise, despite not having met him personally.

Before i finish off, i also wanted to comment on a local news story. The Christian People's Alliance, a small political party, have a few councillors elected around the borough, and while its usually no problem working alongside Christians, its different with the CPA who are headed up by Alan Craig. Craig is famous for his numerous inaccurate statements about the "mega-mosque" project and has cast doubt on the good character of the group behind the project, the tablighi jamaat.

The story is that one of their councillors, Simeon Ademolake, displayed some rather un-Christian behaviour (unless you're thinking about the Crusades) by assaulting two police officers who came to assist a bailiff at Ademolake's residence collecting an unpaid parking fine.

The Newham Recorder reports that the judge rejected Ademolake's evidence and was "scathing" of his and his wife's testimony. The CPA distorting facts again? Nooooo! This is the same group that attacks Muslims for being homophobic, while fighting equal rights for homosexuals.

Tellingly, neither Ademolake, nor big boss Alan Craig swore on the Bible before giving evidence... guilty conscience, perhaps?

Related link: You know times are bad...

If you sell your soul to the devil, don't be surprised when he betrays you

2007-07-29T14:09:00.000+01:00

Today's Observer newspaper carries an article that highlights a dilemma for practising Muslims. It describes the story of Bisher al-Rawi, an Iraqi refugee who was bundled off to Guantanamo by way of CIA extraordinary rendition.

Whats the big deal (if that wasn't big enough) you might ask. The big deal is that al-Rawi was at one time working for MI5 and keeping tabs on the likes of Abu Qatada.

I know that in some circles it would be deemed unacceptable to be allying oneself with the security services of this country, and its seen as equivalent to selling your soul to the devil.

Despite al-Rawi receiving assurances from MI5 that if he ever got into trouble they would come to his aid, when the CIA took him into custody MI5 didn't lift a finger, and in fact were complicit in his rendition.

So what's the message? The message is that you can denounce the lunatics as much as you want. You can even work for the security services if you want. But you'd be foolish if you believe that counts for anything if the Americans come knocking.

I'll end with this quote from the article which all Muslims and informants need to reflect on:

"He (al-Rawi) said an MI5 lawyer had given him 'cast iron' assurances that anything he told them would be treated in the strictest confidence and, if he ever got into trouble, MI5 would do everything in its power to help him."

2007-07-17T11:24:00.000+01:00

I came across this old article about the Hindu caste system - a really backward, discriminating system, which has a lot in common with racism, and apparently its alive and kicking here in the West, imported by the brahmins and rajputs when they migrated here from India.

Unfortunately, something akin to the caste system exists amongst some Pakistani Muslims in the West too. Most often you hear about it in the context of the father of a girl refusing to allow his daughter to marry a certain brother because he comes from a "lower-status" family.

I remember speaking to a guy several years ago about this whole family status thing, and he told me that he was a Rajput, and that he would never allow his daughter to marry someone from a different social level and that this was not in contradiction to any of the teachings of Islam. And, this was a man who sat on the committee of our local mosque!

Just in case you're wondering... no, i wasn't interested in marrying his daughter :)

Thankfully my own parents were never into this whole caste/family thing, despite both coming from "high-class" families from back home, and thats good, because not only does it show good sense, but these traditions don't really mean anything here in the West. The second and especially third generation of desis here have generally embraced the idea of the equality of human beings and pour scorn on the whole idea of caste and "zaat" and it is no longer rare to see a desi man or woman in a relationship with someone who is non-desi. In another generation or two, i bet this whole system will have died out here.

Making new friends

2007-06-25T22:41:00.000+01:00

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.

Thanks for the memories Thierry (sob)...

2007-06-23T10:30:00.001+01:00

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

Difficult few days ahead

2007-06-22T22:10:00.000+01:00

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!

Ugly bastard gets knighted

2007-06-18T16:17:00.000+01:00

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

Right-wing nuts encourage attack on US Mosque

2007-06-16T12:04:00.000+01:00

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.

Ed (not) "The Islamist" Husain

2007-06-14T00:55:00.000+01:00

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.

First jinn experience

2007-06-01T23:46:00.001+01:00

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:

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.

Get rewards day and night...

2007-05-28T16:20:00.000+01:00

How do you feel about doing something which requires a one time input from yourself and would guarantee daily hasanat flowing into your account of deeds for years and years on end?

East London Mosque/London Muslim Centre require £200,000 for refurbishment work for their ablutions area and by making a donation towards the cost of the work you can expect that everytime a person uses the facility some of the reward for performing this deed will be duplicated and desposited in your scale of deeds.

Just imagine how much hasanat you can get for your monetary contribution from a masjid which attracts 2,000 people for salaah every day, 6,000 every jumu'ah and 3,000 every night in Ramadan. The return on your investment would be immense!

Donate by clicking here.

Albert the painter/decorator

2007-05-26T00:52:00.000+01:00

When i was a young teen my dad decided to have the house re-done. He had a new kitchen extension built, new units installed, new carpets laid, new everything. We saw lots of builders come and go in those hectic months, but no one left a lasting impression more than a young half-caste chap, in his early to mid-20s at that time, named Albert who my dad hired to do the painting and decorating, and its about Albert that i wanted to say a few words.

In our entire lives, myself and my family never met a more decent, hard-working and likeable person than this man. His work was of excellent quality - even around 15 years later, the parts of the house which he painted or wallpapered still look new. But it was his decent nature and easy-going character that we loved the most. I wanted to share three memories of him

1) Albert was a Wing Chun expert and he showed us some photos of him doing some flying kicks. He used to tell me that when he was a kid he would dig a deep hole in the ground and then practise jumping out of it as a form of training for his Wing Chun.

2) We used to trust Albert so much, we gave him a set of our house keys. He would come early in the morning, and if there were signs that no one in the house was awake, he would go to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, then put his headphones on and quietly start working.

3) Some nights he used to work late so he would join my family for dinner before heading home (though he was already married at the time) and one night my mum had made kofte (meatball curry) with pilau rice. Now, usually, you eat 2 or 3 kofte with your meal (or perhaps 4 if you are super-duper hungry). When Albert got the dish he took about SEVEN! haha. I still remember my brothers and me giggling quietly when we saw his plate loaded with meatballs.

My family have come close to making du'a that Allah makes our path and Albert's path cross again; everytime someone brings up his name in conversation it brings a smile to everyone's face and a yearning in the heart to meet him again. Now, i know that from time to time you hear of a story of long lost friends who have found each other through the internet, and i'm not really holding out too much hope that he'll end up reading this entry. But if someone - by chance - happens to know this Albert, please put us in touch :)

Abuse in the community

2007-05-23T13:04:00.000+01:00

Organic Muslimah has a post on her blog about sexual and physical abuse in the Muslim community. These are two very real and very important issues that the community needs to face up to and deal with properly.

However, i think its quite an over-reaction where she says that "we must protect them [our children] from everyone, even from our own flesh and blood" and "The doorman, bus driver, public transportation passengers, uncles, cousins, and neighbors were all potential sexual abusers."

I see where she's coming from, but the tone of the post and especially the comments section is so full of paranoia, i'm surprised that the father wasn't added to that list too. How can you function normally with a world-view where you see everyone potentially being out to get your children?

Qur'an teachers in particular come in for quite a bashing in the comments section.

First off, the profession is rightly criticised for the far too-frequent stories of sexual abuse at the hands of its members. But to paint a picture of most Qur'an teachers being so untrustworthy is deeply insulting to the ones who are honest and upright, and its also like the community deliberately shooting itself in the foot. Tell me, who would want to become a Qur'an teacher if the feeling in the community was that most Qur'an teachers are perverts? And if that happened who then would teach our kids the Qur'an?

The second issue Qur'an teachers are bashed for is the beating they give to kids. Real physical abuse is deplorable, but i've been through the system as have hundreds of thousands of Muslim boys in the UK, and at one time or another i'm sure we've all experienced a beat or seen a class mate get a whack. That hasn't meant that we've all grown up emotionally scarred by the experience. A beating administered in the right way way is an effective deterrent in stopping naughty behaviour - believe me.

The topic of sexual abuse within our community needs to be discussed openly and support needs to be made available to those who have unfortunately experienced it, but the discussion must be balanced and based on real stats and not just anecdotal evidence so that we can understand the true extent and nature of the problem.

Tonight's footie

2007-05-23T12:05:00.000+01:00

I'm looking forward to watching tonight's Champion's League Final between Milan and Liverpool, and in particular watching the old master Paolo Maldini play in his eighth such final. He has graced the game for over two decades and by all accounts is one of the most thoroughly decent and likable people in the game: a true role model for today's kids if ever there was a footballing role model.

Even though it'd be nice to see an English team become Champions i think Milan are going to wipe the floor with Liverpool.

Polygyny debate

2007-05-21T00:47:00.000+01:00

I've been reading the online debate between Umar Lee and Ali Eteraz on the topic of polygyny. Umar argues that when the correct conditions are fulfilled polygyny should be a viable option for anyone wanting to enter into such a relationship, whereas Ali, effectively argues that polygyny is an outdated practice and has no place in an ideal society. Those aren't his exact words, but thats basically what he is saying.

I agree more with Umar than Ali, and i wanted to comment on some of the points raised in the debate and in the comments section.

The first thing i want to comment on is Ali's notion that a welfare state would be enough to fulfil the needs of women who are unfortunate enough not to have a husband. I could agree with that if i believed that such women would prefer to stay single and have the state provide a basic standard of living, as opposed the chance to have a husband (albeit shared) and the opportunity to have their own children.

Lets also look at some stats. According to estimated figures from 2005 if each male married one woman in Egypt, there would be 5 million surplus women (about 6% of the Egyptian population); in Pakistan there would be 6 million, and in Indonesia there would be a staggering 33 million women on the road "spinsterhood."

Any solutions for the above problem that do not offer polygyny as an option are doomed to failure, if only from a practical point of view.

The second issue is that people abhor the thought of a man taking a second wife "just to fulfil his desires." I think so what? They don't raise that objection when a man wants to take his first wife. At that time its all "get married brother," and "do it the halal way". So how does it suddenly become an issue when he wants to take a second wife for the same reason?

I don't see myself as particularly pro-polygyny, i'm just like Umar, if polygyny takes your fancy and you can live up to its requirements, then great, say bismillah and go for it. But the anti-polygyny brigade (generally consisting of women - who are hardly going to be unbiased on this topic - and apologists) just annoy me with their bogus arguments.

More on immigrants

2007-05-19T22:07:00.000+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks i've spoken to a few people who moved to the UK, mainly from the Indian sub-continent, about how the east end of London has changed over the years. One thing we agree on is that the most recent immigrants are quite different to my father's generation of immigrants - those who came to the UK in the 70s.

My dad, his brothers, and many men i know from that generation, worked long-hours sweating to earn a living in this country. And they had respect both for themselves and their host country, and instilled that in their kids.

Now when you look at the eastern-european immigrants flooding into the country, the image is of free-loaders who are here to squeeze as much out of the government as they can, whilst breaking all sorts of rules to make extra money on the side. And thats an image not just portrayed by the tabloid media, but its what i see when i step out my door every day.

But the thing that really annoys me is just the basic lack of respect that some of these immigrants have. Back when i was a kid, i remember coming back late one evening from bowling with my cousin, and i was speaking loudly in the streets. My uncle basically told me to shutup and not disturb neighbours who were trying to sleep. Now, you have indians and tamils who walk down the road close to midnight talking so loud you'd think they were sitting in their own living rooms.

But the worst offenders for me are the Polish.

Gadzooks what is it with Polish men and urinating in the streets? So many times i've been tempted to lay into them on this blog over their tendency to urinate on main pedestrian routes in broad daylight, but i've withheld till today.

Earlier this evening, as i stepped outside my house with my young son, an aging Polish man happened to be walking past and smiled at me and my son. "OK" i thought. What does he do? He walks about 5 houses down and starts urinating on the wall of someone's front yard.

"Oiiii no!!" I yelled.

The filthy man looked round and managed a weak smile.

I shook a fist at him at which point he hastily zipped up his jeans and waddled off round the corner, not leaving one with much doubt as to what he was going to do when he rounded the bend.

Behaviour like that is just plain nasty and i'm surprised that grown polish men have no problem in exhibiting it in full view of the public.

Whats going on in Turkey and Blair's legacy

2007-05-02T10:06:00.000+01:00

I was going to post something about whats going on in Turkey but i'll instead link directly to DrMaxtor's dissection of an NYT article about the Turkish protests.

Hard to imagine that a piece of cloth can make so many people upset.

It seems absurd that i feel its easier for my family to practice our religion in non-Muslim Britain than Muslim Turkey.

Now to a completely different topic: what do you think Blair's legacy for Britain is? Read the opinions of the Brits themselves here.

Q & A regarding the number of verses in the Qur'an

2007-05-01T12:02:00.000+01:00

From a Q&A with Kamil Mufti.

> I wanted to ask you...that why is it often stated that the Quran has
> 6666 ayat, although the total number in 6236 ?

Good question.

The number of verses of Quran is NOT 6666 and no Muslim scholar I know of has ever said that.

It is a lie spread by Christian missionaries that some Muslims repeat and spread in their ignorance. Google and you will be surprised how many English, Arabic, Muslim, and non-Muslim websites repeat this. Moreover, it's a common question featured in Islamic/Quran quizzes for kids! So much for people who rely on the Internet!

In Christian theology 666 is the Number of the Beast mentioned in the Book of Revelation (13:18) [sign of the Anti-Christ]. They made up the number to connect the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Islam to the Antichrist!

Damien, the devil's child in 'The Omen,' has 666 inscribed on his head.

In any case, there are many ways to refute them:

(a) The Protestants believe that there are 66 truly "inspired" books in the Bible. If they link 6666 to the Antichrist, then why don't they link their 66 books to the Antichrist too? If they don't mind adding a 6, they shouldn't mind taking off a 6!

(b) The Book of Revelation was rejected by many early Christians like Marcion, Caius of Rome, Dionysius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, and the Synod of Laodicea in 360 C.E.

(c) Eastern Church still rejects the Book of Revelation.

(d) Martin Luther is a father of Reformation and Protestant Christianity. Rejecting this book, he writs, "I leave everyone free to hold his own opinions...I miss more than one thing in this book, and it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic."

(e) Old manuscripts of the Book of Revelation don't mention 666, but 616.

(f) Many Christians use 666 for political propaganda. For example, they attributed 666 to Ronald Reagan because his given name, middle name (Wilson), and surname each have six letters, thus 6-6-6, or 666. Earlier they attributed it to Nero and Domitian, two Roman emperors! Some say 666 will be part of Anti-Christ's Social Security number! Yet, others say it will be the bar code or microchip on his body! They are only limited by their imagination!

Anyways, the number of verses in the Quran according to Kufan counting is 6236. The verses are the same, but their counting is slightly different. For example, some count Bismillah in the beginning of every Surah to be the first verse, others don't. Also, a few verses are counted as two by some scholars.

The following are books written by classical Islamic scholars on the count of Quranic verses:

Adad al-Madani al-Awwal by Nafi' bin Abd al-Rahman al-Madani
Adad al-Thani by same author
al-Adad by 'Ata bin Yisar
al-Adad by Hamza al-Ziyyat
al-Adad by Khalf bin Hisham
al-Adad by Muhammad bin Eisa
al-Adad by al-Kisai
al-Adad by 'Aasim al-Juhdari
al-Adad by Khalid bin Ma'daan
Kitab by Abu Ubaid bin Sallam
Adad Aai al-Quran by Abu Hafs al-Tabari
Add Aai al-Quran 'Ala Madhab Ahl al-Basra by Abu al-Abbas al-Kiali
al-Bayan fi Add Aai al-Quran by Uthman bin Saeed
...and others

None of them mentioned the number of verses to be 6666.

And Allah knows best.

American's march towards fascism...

2007-04-24T14:56:00.000+01:00

Here is a long and interesting article in today's Guardian detailing how the current American administration is dismantling democracy at home while publicly wanting to spread it abroad.

***

From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all ...

[Link]

Expensive day out

2007-04-11T23:06:00.001+01:00

I took my family out to Kensington Gardens this past Easter Sunday and enjoyed a really nice and relaxed day out. The weather in London has been great all week, and there were lots of people in the park - especially from amongst the affluent English and Arab communities that live round that way. I'd really like to get together with some families and organise a picnic or something like that. Its an easy day out to organise that husbands and wives, and also children will all enjoy. It also might help bring about some more community spirit which i think tends to be lacking in some practising communities.

I think particularly for sisters it would be a good thing. My wife told me that there is a tendency for practising sisters who are married to feel depressed. Because they've internalised the belief that its better for them to stay at home all day long, what with looking after screaming young children and not having the husband home till the evening when he gets his tired butt back from work, it doesn't make for a fun time. You see, with non-practising women they still tend to get together and go out shopping, socialise, go to the cinema, etc. but practising sisters can't or won't do that.

Anyhow, our great day out was brought to an abrupt end when i went back to the place where i'd parked my car and discovered it had been towed away. Yes, i shouldn't have parked in a resident permit-holders only bay, but c'mon, having your car towed away on Easter Sunday? Don't these vultures (parking inspectors) ever take a break? It cost me £200 to get the car released!

Before i close, let me just plug the counselling agency that i'm going to be working with, insha'Allah:

**************

FREE WEEKLY WALK-IN COUNSELLING AND MEDIATION SERVICES

Date: Every Saturdays
Time: 5pm - 7pm
Venue: Froud Centre, 1 Toronto Avenue, off Romford Road, Manor Park,
London, E12 5JF

This service has been organised due to the increasing number of social problems within the Muslim community and the pitiful lack of support from mosques and Muslim organisations in addressing such issues. The sessions will be run by experienced and practicing Muslim counsellors, and both brothers and sisters will be available. We hope to offer a confidential and professional service to all Muslims with concerns ranging from personal, social, family or academic worries to longer term, often more complex, psychological problems. Attendees will benefit from a one-to-one service.

We will also be joined by the Muslim Mediation Service* who will be offering one-to-one drop in sessions with a Muslim Mediator, where you can discuss any matters arising from any conflicts you are experiencing within the home or the community free of charge.

*The Muslim Mediation Service has been resolving family and community conflicts since 2003. Their trained and experienced Mediators have been supporting individuals, parents and children and couples facing disputes by working with them to resolve their issues through listening, understanding and communicating effectively.

Please note that the initial session will be free and if the person requires further help then they would need to contact alternative services or the individual counsellors themselves. All are welcome.

For more information please contact:
Brothers: 07894 915 183 / 07864 980 890
Sisters: 07909 941 179 / 0770 6187 058
Mediation: 079410 22 371
E-mail: counselling@islamiccircles.org / mediation@islamiccircles.org

24 and a toothless Arsenal

2007-04-06T23:06:00.000+01:00

I've been watching the smash-hit TV series 24 over the past couple of months and boy is it addictive. I've watched 5 complete seasons and i'm part of the way through season 6 now (which is also currently on TV).

Its quite a good series, but at times the acting can be a bit wooden. The most recent series which focusses on Muslim terrorists has some problems with it. Half the Arab terrorists look Indian, and the guy who plays the head of the "Islamic-American Alliance", a black British actor, speaks in an accent which is mostly Indian though sometimes he pronounces his "t's" with a Londoner's characteristic glottal stop.

Does anyone know why Arab terrorists on TV always pronounce Ahmed as "Ackhhh-med"? Sheesh - I prefer the way the American's pronounce it, "Aamed".

I know that some Muslims were critical of the storyline to season 6 because of the characterisation of Muslims as terrorists, but to be fair to the producers of 24, in the previous 5 seasons they've had terrorists of all ethnic backgrounds trying to launch deadly strikes against the US, and usually the terrorists have had Western backers. The other thing is that using Muslims as terrorists simply reflects what most people in the world today believe: that terrorism in the main is carried out by Muslims. I can't imagine a gripping storyline in which the main enemy to the United States are Bolivians, or Ugandans, or Hindus or Sikhs. And finally, if they have Muslim terrorists in the story, they also tend to have some "good Muslims" who are against the terrorists somewhere in the story.

But this is not to excuse some of the appalling stereotypes used, e.g. the US commander who says "these people (the Muslim terrorists) want to live in the stone age, i say lets put them there." What do Muslim "terrorists" usually want to do? Establish an Islamic State. And so this conveys the message that living under Islamic law equates to living in the Stone Age.

On another note, as we approach the end of the English football season, i have to make a comment on our recent form. Its unfortunate that Henry and Van Persie have missed large chunks of the season, but what has made it worse is our crap attack. Julio Baptista needs 100 chances before he'll tuck the ball in the net. Hleb can dribble all the way to the opposition's penalty box and then seems uncertain of what to do next (how about shooting?) and Aliadiere is just not fit for purpose. Hleb and Rosicky have contributed less goals to the Premiership campaign than our defender William Gallas! Ya Rubb, if only Pires hadn't left last season. His sale was a definite mistake!

Passing of Shazad Ahmed

2007-03-23T22:45:00.001Z

Last Sunday one of my wife's relatives passed away, may Allah have mercy on him. He had been suffering from lung cancer for a number of years and despite feeling immense pain in the last few months of his illness he never complained to anyone. I was told that if he awoke in the middle of the night due to pain he would quietly go lie downstairs on the sofa rather than disturb his wife's sleep.

By Allah's grace the family were able to arrange the funeral for the next day and he was buried in the "Gardens of Peace" cemetery just outside London. It was the first time i have attended a burial there and i was impressed. The land is well-kept and the trustees have ensured that the graves are simple in accordance with Muslim tradition; each grave is marked only by a small stone tablet bearing the name of the deceased upon it. Its also the only cemetery that i know which allows the deceased to be buried outside of the casket.

In the 24 hours between his passing and his burial I had seen my in-laws reciting the following prayer over and over again, and encouraging all well-wishers to do the same:

"O Allah! Forgive him and have Mercy on him and give him strength and pardon him. Be generous to him and cause his entrance to be wide and wash him with water and snow and hail. Cleanse him of his transgressions as white cloth is cleansed of stains. Give him an abode better than his home, and a family better than his family and a wife better than his wife. Take him into Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave."

Once we had arrived at the cemetery the very moment the body was taken out of the vehicle a terrific hail storm descended and ended only as they placed his body in the grave. It lasted perhaps four minutes, and in accordance with the du'a a good sign we hope.

He leaves behind him a wife and three young children, all under the age of 10, and it would mean a lot to us if the readers of this blog would say a small prayer both for him and his family.

They all come round sooner or later...

2007-03-23T22:21:00.000Z

First it was Liverpudlians, then Papua New Guineans and then Jamie Oliver.

Now Boris Johnson has a new target in his sights - bicycle thieves.

Fed up with having his bike stolen and wheel nuts taken, the outspoken Tory MP and cycling enthusiast wants to get tough on bike thieves.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Islington Cyclists Action Group at Islington Town Hall on Wednesday night, he called for hardline 'Sharia law' to be used on bike thieves.

More...

:)

Don't criticise Jews (even when they're up to no good) and rubbish in Britain

2007-03-07T22:05:00.000Z

Forget the fact that Lord Levy is at the centre of a scandal engulfing Downing Street - all the way up to the Prime Minister. This Rabbi's message is clear: if you criticise a Jew you're an anti-semite.

"As detectives prepare to wind up their inquiry, with a case file expected at the end of this month, Lord Levy's backers now claim that he is the victim of an "anti-Semitic" smear campaign. His rabbi declared that "one Jew is seemingly being hung out to dry".

[Link]

Here is the opening to an excellent article by Jeremy Paxman from today's Guardian. I share his sentiment about the UK (especially London) becoming a tip...

"Make the most of it. Before the leaves begin to shoot on the trees and the grass thickens on the roadside verges, take a look around you. This is the perfect time of year to appreciate what a squalid place Britain has become.

The gutters heave with the spring awakening of Starbucks cartons. The pavements glitter with discarded gum and the sun twinkles on a million soft-drink cans. What is that streaming from the top of the tree? It's a 12ft length of grubby plastic."

[Link]

Perhaps he doesn't have a TV

2007-02-25T22:06:00.000Z

I came across this post a couple of days ago which left me a bit baffled. The post is based on a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad "Leave the Ethiopians so long as they leave you, and desist from the Turkic nations, so long as they desist from you."

The author uses this hadith as a basis to criticise the (now fallen) Somali shari'ah courts when they called for foreign fighters to come to defend Somalia.

Its quite clear to anyone who watched the news regarding Somalia these past few months that it was Ethiopia who invaded Somalia and not the other way round. Its equally clear that the hadith places NO RESTRICTIONS WHATSOEVER on what Muslims can/can't do when its the Ethiopians who are starting the trouble.

Not only that, but common sense dictates that when someone is attacking you, you don't sit down and take a beating but you stand up and defend yourself.

What makes this a real hack job is that the author pastes the first paragraph of a newspaper article from the UK's Observer paper to give the impression that the Somalis were the aggressors, when if you continue reading the article it makes it quite clear that its the Ethiopians who were the aggressors. For instance the same article states "Ethiopia, which accuses the Islamists of terrorist links, has sent thousands of troops, tanks and helicopters into Somalia..."

This post leaves me wondering what would drive a person to use a hadith in such a deceitful manner?

Oh look, the post is tagged with "wahhabism", no hidden agenda there then.

Israeli Defence Chief: We use only the most sophisticated technologies to avoid civilian casualties

2007-02-24T12:52:00.000Z

Update: "According to the photographer, Mr Peretz looked through the capped binoculars three times, nodding as Gen Ashkenazi explained what was in view."

[Link]

The salafis made happy...

2007-02-13T19:01:00.000Z

A friend of mine pointed out a discussion on a list regarding Umar's series on the rise and fall of salafi da'wah in the US.

The moderator of the list wrote some disparaging comments about Umar's series, to which one response was:

"May Allah reward you O [name-removed]

, as you are among those who is well aware of - first hand - the many matters that were written about, by this one who was not aware [he's speaking about Umar here], rather this one who followed the "what has been said" of it, and I also, was witness along with you in your presence sometimes, and not other times, to much of that."

Taken on its own this response doesn't stand out as interesting or remarkable in anyway. But unfortunately, this kind of exchange where the followers rush to show their agreement with their leader/shaikh/speaker characterises most of the discussion on this topic amongst the semi-super-salafis, and it reminded me of the Dufflepuds from CS Lewis' "The voyage of the Dawn Treader". Here's an extract:

Nevertheless, only a few feet away from her, a voice spoke. And what it said was:
"Mates, now's our chance."

Instantly a whole chorus of other voices replied "Hear him. Hear him. 'Now's our chance', he said. Well done, Chief. You never said a truer word."

"What i say" continued the first voice, "is get down to the shore between them and their boat, and let every mother's son look to his weapons. Catch 'em when they try to put to sea."

"Eh, thats the way," shouted all the other voices. "You never made a better plan, Chief. Keep it up, Chief. You couldn't have a better plan than that."

"Lively, then mates, lively," said the first voice. "Off we go."

"Right again Chief," said the others. "couldn't have a better order. Just what we were going to say ourselves. Off we go."

No body mention "groupthink"... You can read Umar's response here.

Link: What is authentic Islamic scholarship?

Salafiya in the US series

2007-02-01T23:24:00.000Z

Umar Lee has an excellent series of posts entitled "The rise and fall of the salafi da'wah in the US" and if salafiya means anything to you, i'd suggest you read it.

In a number of posts he discusses the salafi split that started in 1996 and whose effects are still felt today.

I'd only been practising for about 2 years when the split occured and from one day to the next speakers who i had listened to on tapes and seen at conferences went from being described as good-guys to bogeymen. Ali al-Timimi, in particular, over the next decade would feel lots of heat from the "super-salafis." At the time of the split all i could think was, i'd listened to people like Ali al-Timimi, Abu Muntasir, Idris Palmer so often, and i'd benefited from their wisdom and guidance, how could i just abandon them at the drop of a hat?

By Allah's Grace and Mercy i had at that time befriended Idris Palmer with whose help i was able to avoid alot of the fitan that other salafis were experiencing.

But the confusion at the time was intense. I remember sitting with some of the super-salafi brothers one night and they had Abu Uwais round and what he told me about the "super-salafi way" (though obviously he didn't call it that) sounded so convincing - i was about to turn. He "exposed" various brothers, and extolled other scholars - i didn't know what to think.

When i got home i called Idris and i didn't really know what to say. But he listened and he advised, and by the end of the call i knew that i couldn't follow the people that Abu Uwais was asking me to follow.

Umar describes the marriage-divorce merry go-round that some salafis in the States were involved in. That didn't catch hold in the UK, alhumdulillah. Instead what i saw was brothers who just dropped from the scene. Brothers who were previously strong and "on the path" suddenly confused and not wanting to join either side, so they basically disappeared... perhaps they're waiting for the Mahdi to come and sort out our problems.

I wonder if cultural background has something to do with this marriage-divorce merry go-round because it seemed to take place mainly in the the Afro-American community (though such allegations have also been made against Abu Khadeejah and some of his inner circle). I can't imagine any Muslim from a desi background marrying 3 or 4 times, let alone 10 times, without feeling serious pressure from his close family, extended family and friends as to what he was doing and why was he ruining the family name? It just wouldn't be tolerated.

Today I see the salafis as three groups: the "super-salafis" who are SP, Troid and their buddies; the "semi-super-salafis", and the moderate salafis.

The semi-super-salafis are those who started off sharing the same line of thought as Abu Khadeejah. This is people like Dr. al-Jibaali. Somewhere down the line this original group split in two and they've been bickering against each other ever since. You can see this till today for example on the Ahya and Salafitalk forums where they're always "exposing" each other. Its a bit like a salafi soap opera.

After this split the semi-super-salafis felt hurt by the bite of the SP mongrel and were upset when Abu Khadeejah & friends started labelling them as "off the path."

What annoys me is that these same semi-super-salafi brothers who cried foul when Abu Khadeejah attacked them were the same ones who earlier had been slagging of people like Ali al-Timimi, Idris and others and warning people to stay away from them. All they were getting was a taste of their own medicine - and boy did they not like the taste.

Until today you can still see signs of the earlier extremism in the semi-supers. On one of their email lists they were recently discouraging people from listening to Imam Anwar al-Awlaqi - one of the most popular & charismatic du'at of recent times - and as far as we know is still imprisoned. Likewise the moderator of the group refused to post a request for brothers to pray for and donate to the Free Ali fund. May Allah guide us and them.

I don't think the "super-salafi" problem is dead yet. If i had a pound every time i read or heard someone say "this is the final nail in the coffin for the super-salafis" i'd have quite a lot of money.

What now? I know there is discussion amongst some brothers on following up Umar's series with another series on what now for the salafis? As soon as those posts go up i'll put the links here insha'Allah.

On a side note, there is a huge discussion in the comments section on Umar's page about the transparency of AlMaghrib's finances. What the heck? Why do people need to know the state of AlMaghrib's finances? AlMaghrib is providing a service. Paying for that service doesn't make you entitled to see their accounts anymore than i am entitled to see the accounts of my local corner shop just because i buy from them.

Update: Let the healing begin

Update: Recovering from the movement mentality

UK Prison Stats

2007-01-26T21:37:00.000Z

Below are some stats on the UK prison population. I've said before that the British justice system needs to introduce some form of punitive punishments to deter people from committing crimes.

To take just one stat "£40,000: THE average annual cost of keeping a prisoner in jail" - thats nearly one and a half times the average UK salary, and who picks up the bill? People like you and me.

90%: HOW much the prison population has risen since the start of 1993, when there were just 41,600 prisoners in England and Wales.

700: THE number of prisoners who escaped from open jails in the year to last April.

400 convicts who have escaped from our open prisons remain at large today.

20 murderers have absconded from Leyhill Open Prison, near Bristol, in the past five years.

17,700: THE number of children separated from their mothers every year by imprisonment.

100: THE amount of children up to 18 months old living in mother-and-baby units in UK prisons.

271: THE number of criminals sent to jail last Monday alone.

87 of our prisons were overcrowded at the end of October 2006.

£1.85: AVERAGE daily food budget per prisoner - split 20:40:40 between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

£40,000: THE average annual cost of keeping a prisoner in jail.

£365: THE daily cost of keeping a prisoner in a police cell.

£8: THE current weekly average rate of pay for employed prisoners. The minimum rate is £4 a week.

80,045: THE present prison population in England and Wales. 6,447

6,447: THE number of prisoners in Scottish jails.

139: THE number of jails in England and Wales - 15 of which are open prisons.

482: THE number of prisoners in emergency police cells because of prison overcrowding.

13,000: NUMBER of prisoners currently on remand in prison - one in seven of the jail population.

1,025: THE number of foreign prisoners released without being considered for deportation.

11: THE number of privatelyrun prisons in England and Wales. Nine have been built and are run by the private sector under PFI schemes.

6,400: THE number of people serving life sentences - the highest number in Europe.

1 in 3 women prisoners lose their homes, and often their possessions while in prison.

10,000: THE number of inmates employed in nearly 300 workshops including clothing and textile, woodwork, engineering, print and laundries.

11: THE average reading age of more than half of all prisoners.

61% of black and ethnic prison staff have experienced racial discrimination while employed in the service.

152%: THE increase in foreign national prisoners in the last 10 years, compared with a 55 per cent of British nationals.

1 in 4 of the prison population are from a minority ethnic group.

5.7%: THE percentage of ethnic minority prison staff.

35% of young men gain a qualification in prison.

45% of people lose contact with their families or separate from their partner during their sentence.

27: THE average age of prisoners.

17,000: THE number of extra spaces built since 1997, meaning capacity will soon reach 80,400.

12 people are jailed for every 1,000 crimes committed in Britain.

£99,839: THE average cost of each prison place built since 2000.

23.5% of the prison population is being held in a cell designed for fewer people, for example two people in a single cell.

61% of crime victims do not think that prison stops re-offending.

1 in 5 of all crimes are committed by ex-prisoners.

£11billion: THE yearly cost to society of exprisoners reoffending.

1 in 4 women in prison has spent time in local authority care as a child.

50% of Scottish inmates reported they had used drugs in prison.

7,119 prisoners entered Prison Service drug treatment programmes in 2004-05, and 4,600 completed them.

1 in 3 prisoners will not have somewhere to live upon release.

16: THE number of suicides during June 2005 - the highest number of any calendar month on record.

33% of all prison suicides occur within the first week in custody.

3,273: THE number of accused rapists, robbers and violent offenders who remain at large after absconding before their court appearance.

168: THE number of countries where foreign prisoners come from. More than half are from Jamaica, Ireland, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey and India.

1994: The last year when no prison in Britain was overcrowded.

143 people per 100,000 are in prison in England and Wales - the highest in Western Europe.

106,550: THE projected prison population for 2013.

5.8% of prisoners in England and Wales are women.

72% of male prisoners suffer from two or more mental disorders, compared with just five per cent of the population.

78 prisoners committed suicide in jails in England and Wales in 2005 - down from 95 in 2004.

20,000: THE number of self-harm incidents by inmates in 2004-05.

67% of offenders are reconvicted within two years of release.

[Link]

Techie delusions and weirdness from MCB spokesman

2007-01-21T03:14:00.000Z

I had a bit of difficulty getting to sleep last night, so i switched on the the TV and came across this audition on American Pop Idol. I've seen the UK version before and remember that guys from IT backgrounds suffer from delusions about how great their singing ability is, but this guy was in a league of his own.

I've come across a weird article by Inayat Bunglawala, the MCB spokesman, and Abdur-Rahman Jafar, who ran as a mayoral candidate in my borough for the Respect party. In the article they're arguing that Muslims should support gays in their fight against discrimination because it is the twin half of making discrimination against Muslims and other faith groups unlawful.

Yep, like i said, a bit weird.

Inayat has a habit of saying things from time to time which make me - as a Muslim - feel very uncomfortable, for instance his encouragement for Muslims to join the British army and his call for us to respect the sacrifice of Lieutenant Corporal Hashmi, the 'Muslim' soldier who died fighting in Afghanistan. What?! The guy was a traitor to the Muslims. Does Inayat believe that the British would respect the choice of a white British convert to Islam to join the Iraqi insurgency and fight the British army?

No wonder so many Muslims deny that the MCB represent their voice and the voice of the Muslims in this country.

Dispatches programme

2007-01-17T01:26:00.000Z

A few thoughts came to mind whilst watching the latest Dispatches programme:

1) What were Abu Usama And Faiz thinking when making the statements they did? What they said was devoid of any understanding of the context of the time and place we are living in. And the more i think about it, the more i'm sure that brothers such as these have little or no interaction with non-Muslims because its impossible to hold such views and express them so boldly in the UK in 2007 if you're meeting non-Muslims regularly. They need to move on from describing the UK/Western populace as gays, controlled by Jews, etc.

2) What is the obsession with this term kaafir (sing.)/kufaar(pl.)? All it translates to is non-Muslim/disbeliever. If my manager is not a Muslim (which he isn't) then he's a kaafir - its as simple as that - different terminology to describe two different things. What the media is doing, with considerable help from people like Dr. Taj Hargey (and the comments of Faiz) is to give the impression that this word is in and of itself derogatory and implies inferiority. The term 'kaafir' conveys no more inferiority than its english equivalent, disbeliever. To give a simple example, the Pope is a kaafir with respect to Islam, and I am a kaafir with respect to Christianity.

btw. i'm sorry that i can't provide a link for Taj Hargey, because he's basically some unknown whose credentials are that he used to be a Professor of African History, and as regards his study of Islam... errr.. there isn't anything.

3) It seems as though even UKIM, a large-ish Muslim organisation headed up by indo-pak brothers has been lumped with the "extremist" Saudi-Wahhabis. So if they're also preaching hatred and intolerance, who are the Muslims who are practising the correct Islam? Ah, its Haras Rafiq of Sufi Muslim Council fame and his apparent team mate Abdul-Hakim Murad who frequently seems to be on hand to fuel the wahhabi-bashing.

Update: Link to a short interview with a B'ham newspaper in which Abu Usama talks about being taken out of context.

Arise Sir Andrew and Sir Monty and Sir...

2006-12-31T16:55:00.000Z

Several news sources report that John Scarlett, ex-Chairman of the joint intelligence committee, who oversaw one of the biggest screwups ever by British intelligence will be rewarded for his work with a Knighthood.

Just to remind readers, the highlight of Scarlett's charimanship was the production of the infamous "dodgy dossier" that claimed that Saddam Hussein could deploy chemical weapons within 45 minutes.

Instances such as this where complete failure is rewarded are mind-boggling because all they do is devalue the prestige associated with the award.

So you never know, if our Cricket team can keep a steady nerve and avoid winning the 5th test match in Australia they may yet be rewarded for their performances down under :D

Marriage questions

2006-12-28T15:09:00.000Z

Here is an amusing (but also serious) questionnaire that i found at the madina (hat tip: jannah). What would your answers be?

1. I want to get married so...
a. I can have a maid finally
b. I can have a companion in life and Deen
c. I can start on my family of ten
d. I can finally get in good with INS

2. The type of movie I would go see would be...
a. Astaghfirullah
b. LOTR and The Last Samurai
c. Jihad is a real life movie
d. Anything with excessive sex and violence

3. I find Rumi to be...
a. A crazy Dervish
b. Interesting and wise
c. Who's that?
d. The greatest Shaikh of all time

4. I am...
a. Salafi
b. Muslim
c. Wahabbi
d. Sufi

5. I am looking for a girl who...
a. Cooks a mean Biryani
b. Is a good Muslim
c. Looks like Aishwariya Rai
d. Can give birth every year

6. Feminists are...
a. all evil
b. some good, some bad
c. all lesbians
d. really men under cover

7. Muslim girls shouldn't be out after Maghrib because...
a. She should be in the house
b. This is a trick question
c. She should already be at the local club
d. It isn't safe to be out that late

8. If my wife asks me if she looks fat I'd say...
a. Well, you do look as if you put on a few dear.
b. You're beautiful to me.
c. Make an excuse, run away and don't look back.
d. You always look fabulous honey even if obese!

9. I think the West is...
a. Inherently evil
b. Problematic, but has potential
c. The Khalifah waiting for OBL
d. Jannat on earth

10. I am Muslim because..
a. My parents are
b. I choose to be
c. Muslim girls are so hot
d. Pakistan Zindabad

11. I am contacting you so that/because...
a. I can mack some hotties
b. It could be a way to find someone good
c. I'm a fob and you seem so cool
d. My mom made me

12. The place I'd rather be right now...
a. A penthouse apartment with impressive gadgets
b. A cool forest full of silent sunlight
c. A warm beach with lots of people
d. At an intimate dinner for two with my gf/ex

13. I want to marry you because...
a. Heck, you're famous
b. Gee, you're just awesome
c. I'm kind of desperate
d. I heard u got some bling bling

Poking fun at Politically Correct Britain

2006-12-22T20:05:00.000Z

Allegedly from the Commission for Racial Equality...

Update: An article from today's Guardian about the not-so-Christian roots of what's usually associated with Christmas.

Eid cards

2006-12-16T14:12:00.001Z

This past Ramadan i bought a blank card and got some local brothers and sisters to sign it with a short message for an imprisoned brother i write to

sometimes. He really appreciated it and i intend to do the same again now that Eid al-Adha is round the corner. The reason i'm mentioning this is to

encourage brothers and sisters who read this blog to do something similar as it raises the spirits of the prisoner and he's reminded that there are people on

the outside who are still thinking of him. Its also not too time consuming to get people to put their name and a short message on a card.

Here are three prisoners i am going to be writing to:

Ali al-Timimi
Alexandria Detention Centre
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, VA 22314
USA

Randall Todd (Ismail) Royer 46812-083
Rafil A Dhafir 11921-052

Both Dr. Rafil & Ismail can be written to at this address:

FCI Terre Haute
Federal Correctional Institute
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 48708
USA

On another note, do you guys know of anyone who combines knowledge of shari'ah and counselling/psychology? For those who don't know i've been training for about 18 months to become a counsellor, and i want to speak to an academic/professional in this field about how Islamic ethics are combined with this field work. I've heard of a Dr. Abdullah al-Sabeeh at Imam Muhammad bin Saud university - does anyone have his contact details?

And finally, i came across a rumour which would be amazing if it were true (desis only read beyond this point). Everyone has seen Sholay right? And you remember the end scene where the ex-cop Thakur Saab is about to kill Gabbar Singh but the police stop him? Well, apparently in the original Director's cut, Thakur Saab DOES kill him!! The rumour is that the Indian Film Board refused to licence the film with the orignal ending because they reckoned it would be harmful for society if they were to see an ex-cop take the law into his own hands and murder a criminal. Amazing or what?

Some updates

2006-12-01T23:50:00.000Z

I've been really busy at work working on a big project for a client of ours. Unfortunately, the go-live date keeps on being moved later so each week i think its the last week only to find out that the launch has been delayed another week and there will be another agonising week of testing, re-testing and bug fixing...

Otherwise, on the Islamic scene things are going a bit slow. I haven't attended any weekly classes since before Ramadan, but with the AlKauthar Drops of Dew seminar round the corner at least there will be some good quality da'wah/study to get involved in.

I have an update on Ali al-Timimi's situation. He is alhumdulillah based closer to where his family live now, and he is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Federal courts under whose custody he was being mistreated. Though this is a turn for the better, he is still kept in his cell for 22 hours a day! I don't know if i could stand that.

The other thing is that i had two dreams in the last couple of months. One was of Ali al-Timimi being free and looking in a good state. The other was of Imam Anwar al-Awlaqi who was also free in my dream, but looked like he had undergone some rough treatment - may Allah protect him.

I wish i were a holy man and i could claim that these dreams have a meaning to them, alas, i'm no more than a software developer and can't claim anything. Nevertheless, i hope they are a good omen and i pray that Allah returns these two men (along with all other prisoners unjustly imprisoned) to their families and communities.

Short poem

2006-11-21T21:56:00.000Z

This is the very end of a poem written by our brother and Shaikh Ali al-Timimi...

Days gone by, too many to count
My soul ever restless, but without doubt
That soon I am to be free once again
To enjoy Allah's blessings in the company of my brethren.

Same salafis, same problem

2006-11-12T20:17:00.000Z

I used to be a member of a yahoo group moderated by a salafi. I joined the group with high hopes that the group-exclusiveness and arrogance which has been an unfortunate hallmark of the salafi movement over the past two decades would have diminished if not totally disappeared. Alas, no.

In recent days there has been a discussion regarding the reported imprisonment of Imam Anwar al-Awlaqi. Now you might have thought that given the popularity of the speaker and how effective his method of teaching is, and what he has done to bring Muslim youth back to Islam... AND that he is right now possibly being tortured might move these salafis. Again, no. They found it more worthy of their time to discuss his manhaj errors, and why he shouldn't be referred to as "Imam", and the fact that he quotes Sayyid Qutb here and there.

Which planet are these claimants to the name of salafi on? They're wickedly caught up in some fantasy world where they see themselves as guardians of the religion and they have lost all sense of priority. Since when did it become more important to point out errors in secondary matters of the religion and ignore the fact that he is our brother and worthy of our full support and du'as?

Update: Found an excellent post here which touches on some of what i was trying to say above.
Another good post here by Abu Eesa here.

Praying becomes a "radical activity" in France

2006-11-02T12:17:00.000Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,1937630,00.html

Ali al-Timimi online donations

2006-11-01T01:06:00.000Z

You'll notice that I've added a button on the left which if you click will take you through to a Paypal page on which you can securely donate money to the "Free Ali" fund. Please, donate something - even if a little - as $600k needs to be raised by Spring, and Sh. Ali isn't being treated well in the prison system including being locked up with violent offenders (who have attacked him).

I'd encourage my fellow bloggers and bloggerettes to host this button on your blogs and sites to aid our brother and teacher. If you're tech-savvy i'm sure you'll know how to extract the button and stick it on your own site. Otherwise, just drop an email to donateuk AT freeali.org and they'll send you instructions on how to do so.

Back to punishments

I completely forgot to mention the thing that triggered my post on punishments being too soft. I sit in on a meeting with local residents and the police where we find out what the police are doing to tackle problems in our locality and also suggest where they should focus their efforts.

The cops are doing some fine work and taking note of what us, the residents, tell them. But what prompted me to write the earlier post is one officer's admission that the best they can do in trying to get rid of out-of-control youth and drunken yobs causing mayhem is to basically push them out of our locality into the next one. Now that sounds great for the residents of my area, but it doesn't sound right that we should push these people into someone else's yard so that they become a nuisance to others. Now what if anti-social behaviour had a stricter punishment.....

Update: Somalis learn to follow the law

I'm being overworked ....

2006-10-29T10:32:00.000Z

This is my desk at work. Cool eh?

Imperial history of the Middle East

2006-10-26T15:36:00.000+01:00

Click on this link to see a graphic representation of the Imperial history of the Middle East over the past 5000 years.

Punishments too soft

2006-10-22T01:55:00.000+01:00

With Britain's prison population hitting an all-time high and the prison system reaching exploding point it seems as though the British government is trying to address the problem in every way possible but the correct one.

The latest hair-brained idea is to re-introduce floating prisons. This is just one more idea that is destined to fail like previous silly ideas such as sending young offenders on holidays to "rehabilitate" them. I wonder why harsher punishments are not implemented?

Lets take the case of Ian Huntley. Not only did this evil man kill two innocent girls after sexually abusing them, he then had more child porn smuggled to him in prison. He is kept jailed, and fed, and protected from the wrath of other inmates at the tax payer's expense. Thats your and mine tax money going towards his welfare and protection. Now if capital punishment were to be applied here, Huntley's life would come to what most people would agree is a deserved quick end. Not only that, our taxes wouldn't be spent on keeping this evil man alive. And lastly, a decisive punishment would have a deterring effect on others who would think of committing a similar crime.

I remember watching a debate about the death penalty in America in which the pro-camp brought some guy who had been in a bank in Texas when a young man burst in to rob the bank. The robber threw the man to the ground and pointed a gun to his face. He was just about to pull the trigger when the guy says "Son, this is Texas. You kill me and when they catch you, you'll get the chair." The robber hesitated for a moment and then ran out of the bank.

Now i think that lots of people in the UK are in favour of harsher punishments, but the prime worry that people have is how can you ensure that justice will be served correctly? What happens if you kill an innocent man? After all, had the death penalty not been abolished the Guilford four would not be alive and free today. The obvious answer is that you don't establish such punishments unless you have conclusive proof that the perpetrator of a crime really is the perpetrator.

A thought on a verse of the Qur'an

During Friday Prayer Imam Abdul-Qayyum from East London mosque recited surah at-Takathur from the Qur'an. The last verse reads "Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about an-Na'eem." What this is referring to is that on the Day of Judgment we will be questioned about the enjoyments and blessings we were given in this life. And i thought, imagine that you are standing in front of Allah, and a huge list of blessings that you were given is being read out. Family, dwelling, friends, good health, food, drink, sound mind, good upbringing, and the million other blessings that are between you and Allah. Imagine one is standing there and this huge list of blessings that were bestowed is being read out and you are acknowledging that you received every single one of them... how shameful and unthankful and embarrassing and humiliating will it seem were even one sin of ours to be read out after that huge long list?

May Allah not let this month of Ramadan end without forgiving each and everyone of us.

Help Sh. Ali

2006-10-20T23:57:00.000+01:00

There is a new appeal for helping in the case of Dr. Ali al-Timimi. His supporters have set up a new site which i've added to my list of links: http://freeali.org

There are some problems with online payments at the problem, but if you have the cash now and are in the UK, you can send the money to the following account from which it will be forwarded to the brothers in the States.

You can send a cheque made payable to 'ISLAMIC MAIL' to the following address:

Islamic Mail
PO Box 35369
East Ham
London, E6 2WF.

If you have online banking, you can transfer the money directly to the account:

Account name: ISLAMIC MAIL
A/C #: 01418904
Sort Code: 40-02-34

Please remember that the above details are relevant to UK residents only.

More PC madness in Britain

2006-10-14T22:32:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you can't blame the British public for thinking that Muslims have come to these shores and are in the process of taking over, while the indigenous population is starting to be treated as second class citizens. Take for example, the case of Nadia Eweida - one of British Airways checkin staff. She's been put on unpaid leave by the company until she decides to hide away a small cross that she wears on her necklace. No doubt, some BA bigwig thinks that this instruction to their employee will avoid people like me, Muslims, being offended. Well, Mr BA bigwig, i'm not offended when i see a cross round someone's neck.

Issues like this seem almost manufactured and unsurprisingly, breed resentment in the vast majority of the UK population who have Christian roots. What i'd like to ask is which Muslim(s) did they consult before coming up with such ludicrous policies? In my life i've never met a Muslim in the UK who was offended when they saw someone wear a cross. Thats not to say that i agree with what the cross symbolises, but a cross certainly never caused me nightmares.

Neither have i met a Muslim who was offended when they saw a Christmas Tree.

History shows that Muslims & Christians have been able to live together for over a milennia whilst maintaining their own religious rites. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Holy Land where still today Palestinian Muslims live side by side with Palestinian Christians.

Hopefully, common sense will prevail and the lady will be allowed back to work without having to hide her cross. But don't hold your breath, common sense is in short supply in PC Britain.

Yeah, i'm really going to listen to her...

Today's Daily Mirror has more comment on the niqab controversy. Arguing against the use of the veil they've got former Apprentice star, Saira Khan. What this clearly demonstrates to me is the inability of the media to engage with practising Muslims on the right level. How do you expect a practising Muslim to take advice from someone who is married to a Christian (prohibited in Islamic law), and grew up wanting her dad to go to the pub and drink a beer?

Back

2006-10-13T21:48:00.000+01:00

What do you expect when you live in a non-Muslim country? That non-Muslims are going to embrace every aspect of Islam with open arms?

What doesn't help is non-practising Muslims ringing up radio stations, writing to papers and whose faith "is in my heart" giving their own interpretation to what Islam commands and prohibits.

On another note, I've often wondered about the effect on Muslim convert's parents when their son/daughter changes their name upon conversion. It seems a bit anti-da'wah to me. Its like a rejection of their first gift to their child - the name.

This is just a personal thought - i'm not a revert myself, so i don't know what effect changing names has. If you're a revert who changed his/her name how did your parents feel when you told them you'd changed your name?

You go Hugo!

2006-09-20T19:25:00.000+01:00

Report on Hugo Chavez at the UN:

"The devil came here yesterday," he said, referring to Mr Bush's speech on Tuesday. "It still smells of sulphur today," he added.

Indian Muslims attend gig for elephant-head

2006-09-15T22:47:00.000+01:00

Indian Muslims have joined Hindus in a festival celebrating the Hindu god with an elephant's head, Ganesh. This news item highlights how important it is for Muslims to learn the basics of Islam and what is permissible and what is not. It blows away the claim made by impatient young Muslims that there are far more important issues for the ummah to deal with. In fact, re-education of Muslims is one of the most important matters facing us. How can the ummah think of straightening itself and fulfilling its real potential when you have people within its ranks who say that participating in such festivals makes them better Muslims?!

For those wondering how Ganesh got his elephant's head, the story is here.

Time to take out the Pope effigies...

2006-09-15T20:29:00.000+01:00

The Pope has said something about Islam, and it comes as no surprise that Muslims around the world are getting real mad again. Indian Muslims have already carried out the ritual burning of the offender's effigy followed by a good old session of jumping up and down on its ashes. I wonder how long it'll be till some McDonalds restaurants have their windows smashed in?

One has to wonder what it is that makes Muslims turn to this riotous behaviour so easily.

Probably one of the main reasons is that its *a* response - its something. And doing something is better than doing nothing. They can go home and feel content that they've done something in support of Islam.

Misguided is probably the best word to describe such a response.

Perhaps a lack of education and distance from the scholars also has an effect in bringing this on. I mean, it would have been far easier and far more effective if a couple of Muslims sat down to pick out some choice facts about Christianity and its brutal history and then published it online or issued a press release.

This kind of behaviour is also quite embarrassing and makes Muslims look silly. A number of UK-ers have also raised the valid point that Muslims are always describing the West as evil and decadent so why do they get so upset when something is said about Muslims?

Moving onto some happier news. Last weekend we held the first AlKauthar institute seminar titled "The Mark of a Jurist." Alhumdulillah, the lecture theatre was packed to maximum capacity and the feedback has been excellent.

AlKauthar's entry to the UK is an important step forward for study of Islamic sciences for Muslims in the West. For too many years we've been attending the odd talk here or the odd conference there without being able to study a topic in depth and AlKauthar is going to change that, insha'Allah.

We had a remarkable number of very skilled professionals attend including several Doctors & Lawyers all who equally benefitted from the course.

The next course is scheduled for January insha'Allah.

Taught to hate

2006-08-31T14:48:00.000+01:00

I usually listen to the Nick Ferrari (radio) show on the way into work and today some guy called in to rant again about Muslims and Muslim children being taught to hate, and the usual spiel askng why can't Muslims just get on with everyone?

Well, here are some truly shocking pictures of children being instilled with hate. One wonders what kind of twisted mind a person has who gets children to write mocking messages on rockets that will kill and maim children elsewhere.

Dodgy Jewish article

2006-08-21T22:47:00.000+01:00

I read a post over on Umar's blog in which he stated "If there is a fundamental truth about the Jewish religion it is a respect for human life". Pah! I thought. He obviously doesn't know what I know. He hasn't been around long enough to read those Quotes from the Talmud on how superior these Jews think they are above non-Jews.

All the same, i thought i'd better check out these quotes before i reply to Umar's post. While it was easy to find this same "Quotes from the Talmud" article all over the web (found on numerous Muslim sites too) it was very hard to find an online Talmudic resource which i could use to check the references. But then i finally found one.

I started off with this quote, according to the article, found in Baba Mezia 114b. "The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts."

Hmm... i thought, i can't find that anywhere here.

Nevermind, could be a simple mistake; onto the next one: "Sexual intercourse between Gentiles is like intercourse between animals" in Sanhedrin 74b.

Again searching through the text, i found nothing that even remotely sounded like the above.

Then thankfully, i stumbled across a thorough refutation of the entire "Quotes from the Talmud" article which exposed it as full of wildly inaccurate translations, gross twisting of the meaning of the text, and just pure & simple fabrication of Talmudic passages.

My end feeling is one of embarrassment - because until today i'd actually believed these quotes to be true Jewish/Talmudic teachings. But alhumdulillah, better that i learned i was mistaken today rather than never.

The embarrassment was compounded afterwards when i realised that you could find this article on Muslim sites. Where is the research from Muslims before sticking this stuff online? Verifying the authenticity of what we communicate to others is not only part of our religious heritage (the isnad/chain of narration) but it is also a command from Allah:

"O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done." al-Qur'an 49:6

Selling off the NHS

2006-08-18T19:15:00.000+01:00

If you've been following news about the NHS recently you'll have heard about the government's moves to privatise the national health service; that many NHS trusts are in millions of pounds of debts, that the number of beds is going down and Doctors are being sacked because NHS trusts can't find the money to pay their salaries. At the same time we're constantly hearing the Labour government claiming that they've been plowing money into the NHS like never before - much more than how much the Tories invested in it.. so whats up?

You'll find the answer when you study what is called the Private Finance Initiative. This is the government's attempt to "improve" public services by allowing private companies to run these services. The theory goes that private companies have great ability to run businesses efficiently and that if we hand over key services to them such as the NHS, schools, the prison service, that the business know-how of these private companies will help run successful services for the British public and the government grants that these companies receive will represent a value for money return for the taxpayer.

Unfortunately, in practise it doesn't work like that. Private companies are interested in one thing alone: profits. They are duty-bound to take that course which will give maximum returns to their shareholders. Now an obvious first question is, how can you try to make a profit from running a school? or running a hospital? or running a prison service?

This is a question our government needs to answer.

In practise how it does work is that private companies running a hospital will take obvious steps to reducing their costs: reducing the number of beds; below average cleanliness in the hospitals; substandard care for their patients, all of which has been borne out from investigations into the state of PFI run hospitals. In fact, the first PFI built hospital in this country was given 1 star in the NHS rating system: the lowest possible.

To find out more about the PFI and how it affects the lives of ordinary Britons, read "Captive State - the corporate takeover of Britain" by George Monbiot.

And i just want to leave you with this classic example of newspeak. When discussing the closure/downgrading of 10 hospitals, bosses said "the measures are aimed at reducing deficits and treating more patients..."

AlKauthar plug and old Sufi tricks

2006-08-15T23:11:00.000+01:00

"The Mark of a Jurist" by Sh. Tawfique Chaudhry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uCBfIHvLS0

You will never think about Islamic Jurisprudence in the same way again.

http://www.alkauthar.org

Government officials at launch of new Muslim organisation

I was surprised to see the name of the Sufi Muslim Council mentioned on various news sites today - i've never heard of them before. Well Muslims, don't hold your breath over what these guys are going to do for you.

For a start a quick visit to their website shows a picture from their "ground breaking event in Manchester" attended by none other than X-factor contestant and ex-stripper Chico. Why on Earth are they using him to advertise their Islamic credentials? Its like me starting up a Muslim organisation and asking Madonna to attend.

Mind you Madonna would probably go down a treat with the SMC because another photo on their website is of Madonna fan Sh. Hisham Kabbani: yep, he's the guy who also claimed some years ago that 80% of American Mosques are controlled by extremists.

In fact, if you look through the list of articles under the "Extremism" section you'll find them ranting against wahabis, Ikhwan al-Muslimeen, Hizb at-Tahreer, Salafis, and basically everyone other than themselves. If they're against these groups that mainstream practising Muslims in the UK work with one has to wonder how big a following they really have?

Link: Sufi Muslim Council exposed (hat tip to Yusuf)

From Deutronomy to Lebanon - a bible lesson with photos

2006-08-05T11:09:00.000+01:00

"And we utterly destroyed them. . . the men, women and children, of every city."

-- Deuteronomy 3:6

"... [T]he Lord thy God ... shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed."
-- Id., 7:23

"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be."
-- Id., 11:24

"[O]f the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth."
-- Id., 21:16

"Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."
--Numbers 31:17-18

"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
-- 1 Samuel 15:3

"And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it."
--Obadiah, verse 18

You know times are bad...

2006-08-01T22:59:00.000+01:00

when they're associating the Tablighi Jamat with terrorism.

In my local borough, the TJ are planning to build one of the biggest mosques in Europe, catering for 40,000 worshippers, masha'Allah!

Alan Craig representing the Christian People's alliance claims "Despite its claims to be peaceful and pietistic, specific links between Tablighi Jamaat and various terrorist organisations have been established at their home base in Pakistan, throughout central Asia and also in the US."

If thats the TJ described, who then does he consider to be a moderate? Is it the likes of lesbo Irshad Manji... well strangely enough, it could well be, read on.

Craig poses a number of questions for the Mosque's committee to answer. One of these is "Will the mosque abide by the government’s new Sexual Orientation Regulations? Will they open their facilities for use by gay and lesbian groups? At their mosque school will they – as required - teach that same-sex civil partnerships are equivalent to heterosexual marriage?"

First of all, the CPA could be asked whether the churches that back them also teach the equality of same-sex partnerships and heterosexual marriage? The answer of course will be a resounding no. And this cheapshot looks all the more shameless when you check the CPA's website and note that the CPA themselves oppose equal rights for gays in a press release issued on the same day (30/6/06) that they raised their concerns about the mosque and its stance on gays.

Here is some more on the CPA's press release.

Ali al-Timimi update

2006-07-25T22:23:00.000+01:00

Alhamdulillah the judge granted the defense lawyer the request to move Dr. Al Timimi from the federal prison to the Alexandria detention center for further hearings.

Please continue to pray for him. [Link]

Netenyahu, OBM and Bergkamp

2006-07-22T00:07:00.000+01:00

Yesterday evening i saw an interview with ex-Israeli PM Benjamin Netenyahu. I was slightly surprised that the Sky News interviewer put him on the spot and asked him why he was going to be attending the 60th anniversary of the Israeli terrorist attack on the King David Hotel. How could he accuse one group of people of being terrorists who attack civilians (i.e. Hizbullah) while glorifying & commemmorating another terrorist attack?

Netenyahu was slightly thrown by the question and his eventual reply was that the hotel was a military base and that the Jewish terrorists who attacked it had called ahead and told the British to vacate the building. And that was his "justification".

Well, lets go back and establish one or two facts so that we can weigh up the strength of Netenyahu's justification.

The King David Hotel in 1946 housed the military and civilian headquarters of British power in Palestine. Its defences included soldiers patrolling around it; some manning machine-gun nests on the roof. Its front was covered by wire netting to prevent throwing of explosives at it and you approached it through a barbed-wire alley flanked by armed guards. It had steel shutters which could only be opened from the inside and which could only be accessed by first going through another set of steel doors.

Now ask yourself, do you think that the British were just going to up and leave from such a fortress because a gang of Jewish terrorists threatened to blow them up if they didn't (and that is if we assume that Netenyahu is telling the truth about a warning being given)? I don't think they would leave the King David Hotel anymore than they'll leave Sandhurst if some nutter calls up telling them to abandon it.

So now Netenyahu commented that he'd like to see Hizbullah give a warning so that Israeli civilians could be evacuated before Hizbullah lunched an attack, as if the Jewish warning to the British gave them some sort of moral high ground. But the fact is that it doesn't give them any more moral high ground than the IRA who used to do exactly the same a few decades ago - they used to call up the police beforehand to tell them of an impending explosion.

This atrocity at the hands of Jewish terrorists ended with the death of 88 British & Arabs.

Not so brave now

Since the time when i was in college my general feeling is that whichever group has been led by Omar Bakri Mohamed (whether HT, al-Muhajiroon, or al-Ghurabaa) has been characterised by bad adab, and stupid statements & behaviour in the media which give a very bad impression of the Muslim community.

Now OBM and his followers have always been at the forefront of calls for Jihad and fighting the Zionist enemy etc, etc. but it now emerges that OBM who is in Lebanon was trying to get on the first boat back to Britain after the escalation of the crisis there. So where is all the zeal and enthusiasm to "fight the oppressors" gone?

Farewell to the old Master

Tomorrow will see the curtain come down for the last time on one of football's most talented players: Dennis Bergkamp. The BBC Sport's site has a 15 page collation of photos and facts which is worth looking at. Bergkamp is so beloved to Arsenal fans that in later years when chiefly starting as a sub you'd hear the crowd burst int cheers when they'd see him get off the bench to warm up. I'm hoping that Arsenal will release a DVD of all his goals, because that would be a real collector's item. Do you remember the hat-trick against Leicester? Do you remember that absolutely stunning goal against Argentina in 1998 - probably the best goal i've ever seen!

Du'a request

2006-07-19T23:05:00.001+01:00

There will be a hearing on behalf of Dr. Ali Al-Timimi on Friday July 21 at 9:00 am at Alexandria Courthouse. Please pray for your brother.

How much lower can they go?

2006-07-17T22:13:00.000+01:00

As i mentioned in an earlier posting, a bunch of paedophiles in Holland were trying to get a political party started which had a paedophile & perverts agenda. Well, that party has been given permission to come into being and campaign and gather support. Not only do they want to bring down the age of consent to 12 they want to allow sex with animals!

If these are the sorts of values that the West wants us to be accepting of, they can stick their values where the sun don't shine. Give me shari'ah anyday, where good is good, bad is bad, and clear-cut punishments deter would be offenders!

Israeli conflict

What can you say when facts are presented upside down and everyone is repeating them & believing them all the time? I'm talking about the Israelis new line that Hizbullah have come into possession of super-duper advanced weaponry (just because they sank a small gunship off the coast) and suddenly this new weaponry takes the conflict to some new stage which it has never reached before? Who actually has the advanced weaponry? Do Hizbullah have a single fighter-jet? Or a single helicopter? Or even a single tank that Israel is so worried about Hizbullah.

Its a great shame that Tony Blair is increasingly showing his pro-Israeli bias in face of such facts as Israel targetting the Lebanese & Palestinian civilian population. That Israel is harmfully affecting the lives of tens of thousands of people by targetting power stations (that supply hospitals & schools with electricity) , bridges and other key areas of civilian infrastructure. But then who expects any good from him nowadays anyway?

Islam's Green

I found a link to the blog of well-known Muslim activist Abdur-Raheem Green. People in the UK will be familiar with the blond-haired speaker whose talks pack a punch. I remember him saying in a talk that people sometimes mistake him for Jesus (because at that time he used to keep shoulder-length hair) and if you've seen him you can understand why people say that. But that reminds me of when i was at Hajj a couple of years ago and i was walking round the outskirts of Masjid al-Haram almost onto Ajyad street when i saw a person who reminded me of Jesus, the Messenger of Allah so much. This one was fair skinned, didn't have blond hair - but brown, but the sight of him and how much he made me think of Jesus left me captivated. I was almost about to go up to him and tell him that he reminded me of Jesus but i bottled it.

Yet another 'honour' killing

2006-07-14T22:20:00.000+01:00

First things first, may Allah give the perpetrators of this horrific crime what they deserve. Where did the innate love for one's own family go in the heart of Sumaira's brother, father and even her mother who stood by whilst the brutal crime was committed?

They thought by killing her they would protect their honour amongst their friends and family, yet their own hands dishonoured them and their families in a way such that the entire UK now sees them as they are: heartless murderers.

On Zidane

I'm right with Zidane when he says that he didn't regret headbutting Materazzi. The guy deserved it after what he said. People are saying that its normal for insults (including insults to one's mother) to be traded on the football pitch. As if that makes it acceptable!!

Al-Noor funday

If you happen to be in and around London this Sunday why not pop over to Valentines Park for the Al-Noor school funday. Its a really great day out for all the family, and i've enjoyed it thoroughly every year that i've gone.

What did i tell you?

2006-07-09T00:18:00.000+01:00

Mr Diver wants to leave Man U. I seriously don't know how that guy can live with himself diving all over the pitch like he does, and tonight's third place match was no different.

If i could catch his ear i'd tell him that he should stop trying to fly about like Superman or he'll injure himself! (I'd also tell him that my brother calls him 'Riverdance', haha).

Anyhow, here are two quick plugs: I found a nifty calendar tool which fits nicely in the corner of my screen. Check it out.

There is a new lecture by Imam Anwar on the net entitled "Allah's victory is near". You can download part 1 here and part 2 here.

And finally, i've been reading the PhD thesis of a friend of mine and often he refers to the history of Baghdad by way of mentioning events that happened there, famous people who lived there (e.g. Imam Abu Hanifa), and it makes me very sad now to see it in its current state. I don't have a copy of "Tareekh Baghdad" but if anyone reading this does and has a bit of spare time on their hands it would be great if you could put together an article which illustrates the great history of this city because i think Muslims ought to know how important this city is in our history.

A year later...

2006-07-08T02:24:00.000+01:00

It was the first anniversary of the July bombings yesterday and yes, i observed the silence. Everyone in our department observed the two minutes of silence (except one Jewish guy) but it wasn't a silence of reflection, but moreso two minutes in which people quietly got on with their work.

I only found out a couple of days ago that one of my English colleagues - and a good friend of mine - was on one of the bombed trains. Alhumdulillah, he wasn't physically harmed by the bombs, but i could sense from the moment that he got in to work yesterday that there was a lot going on inside of him and when i saw him give a TV interview later that day he admitted that it had been an emotionally draining day.

One of the reasons that i don't agree with the bombings is that just as i don't wish for myself or my family to come to harm, i don't wish for my non-Muslim colleagues, friends and neighbours to come to harm either. These are people i grew up with and went to school with, played football with, have gone out to dinner with... and the thought that they might be blown to bits just doesn't sit nice with me.

One of the issues i've wanted to blog about for a long time is the issue of how UK Muslims relate to this country? How strongly do Muslims here feel a sense of belonging to the UKand by Muslims i mean practising Muslims and not the coconut-variety because it is practising Muslims who will ultimately project an image of Islam to the wider public.

What i sense is that there is a very strong sense of detachment to the UK and the UK way of life amongst brothers and sisters, and i think some of the factors that lead to this are:

the foreign policy of the British government. This is so unjust & cruel that even white people sometimes admit that they're embarrassed to be British.
ungratefulness. Believe it or not, British law generally accommodates Muslims quite well!
racism
lack of social interaction with non-Muslims, which leads to ...
an attitude of us versus them "dirty kuffaar"
the dream of making hijrah. This psychologically starts the detachment anyway. Afterall, if you're planning to move away from the UK you're not likely to care too much about it are you? (Though the strange thing is that those who want to make hijrah don't really do much beyond talking about it).

JZ

I received two new items in the post yesterday: Purification of the Soul by Jamal ad-Deen Zarabozo, and a 28-CD explanation of surah al-Fatihah by the same author. I bought them from islamic bookstore because it was much, much cheaper to get them at US prices (though customs added nearly another £14 to the overall price). I'm looking forward to listening to them and i'm hoping that in presentation they will be just as good as the various sets that Imam Anwar al-Awlaki has produced.

England out

2006-07-01T23:00:00.000+01:00

I have to agree with Abu Eesa, to see England go through after putting in yet another rubbish performance would have been a shame for the world cup.

On the bright side, no more Sven. But with McClaren taking over i'm not going to be too optimistic over what England can do over the next couple of years. They've got some half-decent players and what they needed was someone like Big Sam Allardyce to be taking charge. I've got a lot of time for him.

I can't believe how effectively Sven neutralised the skill of a side with the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Terry, Gerrard and the two Coles. Actually, i look at Sven and wonder how could someone like him ever inspire his players at all? I hope he gets a good grilling in the Sun tomorrow.

I'm not a betting man, but if i were i'd put money on ole Cristiano Ronaldo not being at Man U next season. There have been whispers of him wanting to sign elsewhere this summer, and he was just too cocky and aggressive with his Man U team mates that i wonder whether he already has an agreement with another club.

Anyhow, i'm rooting for an Italy v France final now. I just hope that Domenech decides to start Trezeguet alongside Henry. Watching a team playing with a lone striker is just darn boring.

The refereeing has improved alot since that shambolic Holland v Argentina match in which 16 yellow cards were branded! But the play-acting by the worlds "greatest" players has been sad to see. Even Henry dived disgracefully in France's second round match.

Now that England are out I leave you with a quote from my brother.

"Who should i support now? Yeah, i'll support France... (thinks for a moment) ... Damn, i'm supporting the French Frogs!"

:)

Two roads

2006-06-23T23:26:00.000+01:00

I haven't updated my blog in a while because i've been so busy at work. One thing i've been wanting to comment on for a while is the effect that the anti-Muslim hysteria raised in the press is having on the non-practising Muslim community.

At the end of an article The Times on the hidden nature of Muslim terrorists the author ends with this sentence, which if i were a white Brit would make me feel quite uncomfortable:

"Today’s terrorists are suburban men who neighbours invariably describe as “hard-working, respectable and British to the core”."

What this translates to is: don't trust a Muslim. He might have a white-collar job, invite you to a BBQ, he might even drape the English flag from his window during the World Cup.... but don't trust him, because he just might be a hidden terrorist.

Now this obviously doesn't make things easier for Muslims, but i think that there is at least one positive outcome from this. You see, non-practising Muslims who are now starting to get treated differently by non-Muslims, who are seeing non-Muslim friends/colleagues taking digs at Islam & Muslims are now being faced with a choice. Do you stand up and identify with Islam or not?

For some it is causing a re-examination of where they stand with regards to their practise of Islam. Recently, a non-practising Muslim i know - who in the past has spoken words of disbelief during times of difficulty - admitted that he didn't like how Islam was being discussed in the media, or at work, and that he had noticed changes in the way people interact with him. He was now starting to develop a closer affinity to Islam.

I think that whichever path a non-practising Muslim takes will he'll stick to it. If he chooses the path of Islam it will be a source of comfort, solace and guidance. And if he chooses to disassociate himself from Islam he will surround himself with others like him and just become a self-loathing ex-Muslim trying to prove just how much like the kuffaar he can really be.

---
Some Muslims have come together and planned a huge Muslim funday by hiring out Alton Towers for Muslims in September. Its not really my thing and i have some reservations about it but its great to see Muslims thinking big, and i hope its a success.

Update on dodgy intelligence from informants

2006-06-12T11:27:00.000+01:00

...Their case is not unique. According to the Home Office, up to 30 September 2005, 895 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000; of those 23 have been convicted of terrorism offences. Aamer Anwar, a Scottish human rights lawyer who has represented a number of those arrested, said: "You have got Muslims being picked on the basis of single informant information. Often, informants are people who are facing threats of deportation or jail or are being given financial assistance. The pressure they put informers under produces misinformation and they will often tell them what they want to hear to stay in the country or stay out of jail. And the real bombers will walk right under their noses."

[Link]

Thought crime

2006-06-11T11:09:00.000+01:00

"We're arresting people for talking about things, thinking about things, training for things," said Andrew McBride, a former federal prosecutor in Alexandria."

[Link]

A Peace Reporter

2006-06-08T10:25:00.000+01:00

Forest Gate raids

2006-06-05T12:24:00.000+01:00

Just a quick word about the shooting of the Muslim in Forest Gate and what now seems to developing into another "intelligence" failure on the part of UK secret service.

First off they claim that the raid on the house was triggered after receiving "specific intelligence" about an impending thread to the public. Well, that doesn't really fill anyone with confidence because wasn't it these same agencies that offered details of "specific intelligence" to the government regarding the presence of Saddam's WMDs?

Second, i wonder how much these agencies trust the word of these apostates sent into the Muslim community? Imagine being in the shoes of one of these spies. You're being paid to gather good intelligence, but you can't find anything. So to show your usefulness, and "earn" your salary you finger some innocent Muslim who looks a bit dodgy to you.

Are these the homosexuals of the 21st century?

2006-05-31T22:15:00.000+01:00

Up until recent times homosexuality in the West was seen as a sickness and a sin. But over time this perception changed until today it is seen as an alternative lifestyle. So what was once seen as immoral is now acceptable.

Which makes one wonder what the future holds when you read of news like this.

What the above report does not mention is that only 4 out of 5 people were against possessing child pornography in Holland.

10 Sidis a penny

2006-05-28T23:02:00.000+01:00

Each week when i read the Islamic Events & Notices list (which is an excellent resource by the way) i'm bemused to see that that there is a new Sidi on the block. Sidi, for those that don't know the term, is the same as Sayyid, but pronounced Sidi in places like North West Africa. The first time i came across it was when i listened to Abdullah Hakim Quick's excellent series entitled "The complete advice in sincerity" which was an explanation of a small work by Sidi Ahmed Zarruq. The impression i got was that a Sidi was someone of great renown, a person of scholarship, and wisdom.

So where did all these Sidis pop out from all of a sudden? I recognised the name of one of the brothers whose name was suffixed with Sidi and trust me, he doesn't have any formal training/education in Islam. I know that people love our scholars and teachers, but too many seem to be promoted to the level of Shaikh, Imam, Sidi too quickly. And that i think cheapens the title. If everyone is a Sidi, then the real Sidis won't be given the distinction that they deserve and won't stand ahead of the crowd where they ought to.

Bungled raid kills Donkeys

2006-05-28T22:27:00.000+01:00

The following story in the Sunday Mirror made me laugh:

"SAS troops blew up the wrong house, destroyed three cars and ran over two donkeys during a bungled night-time raid in Iraq... Acting on information from US intelligence (KN: that explains it then) , the SAS abseiled from a helicopter on to the roof and blew in the roof and walls..."

French Musketeer leaves the Gunners :(

2006-05-25T12:53:00.000+01:00

One of the best players to grace the Highbury turf, Pires leaves behind him a host of great memories. I felt that out of all the Arsenal players he was the one who was most naturally on the same wavelength as Thierry Henry (except for THAT penalty), and its a great shame to see this partnership broken.

Powerful

2006-05-19T09:05:00.000+01:00

"I feel like i'm at war.
But the opponent is myself."

-- Ediz H

Barcelona 2 - 1 Arsenal

2006-05-17T22:52:00.000+01:00

"I was kicked all over the place. Carles Puyol and Rafael Marquez should have got yellow cards," he said.

"To defend against me with a yellow card - it's not the same game any more. I expected the referee to do his job. I don't think he did."

Jinn event

2006-05-16T23:12:00.000+01:00

This is one of the more interesting seminars to be organised in a while. Be there if you can!

Pop culture in the name of Islam

2006-05-03T08:17:00.000+01:00

I came across this article which reflects what i've been feeling about the Muslim music scene for a long time. May Allah reward Yvonne for this great article:

Pop Culture in the Name of Islam
YVONNE RIDLEY
Monday, April 24, 2006

I FEEL very uncomfortable about the pop culture which is growing around some so-called Nasheed artists. Of course I use the term 'Nasheed artists' very lightly. Islamic 'boy bands' and Muslim 'popsters' would probably be more appropriate.

Eminent scholars throughout history have often opined that music is haram, and I don't recall reading anything about the Sahaba whooping it up to the sound of music. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for people letting off steam, but in a dignified manner and one which is appropriate to their surroundings.

The reason I am expressing concern is that just a few days ago at a venue in Central London, sisters went wild in the aisles as some form of pop-mania swept through the concert venue. And I'm not just talking about silly, little girls who don't know any better; I am talking about sisters in their 20's, 30's and 40's, who squealed, shouted, swayed and danced. Even the security guys who looked more like pipe cleaners than bulldozers were left looking dazed and confused as they tried to stop hijabi sisters from standing on their chairs. Of course the stage groupies did not help at all as they waved and encouraged the largely female Muslim crowd to "get up and sing along." (They're called 'Fluffers' in lap-dancing circles!)

The source of all this adulation was British-born Sami Yusuf, who is so proud of his claret-colored passport that he wants us all to wave the Union Jacks. I'm amazed he didn't encourage his fans to sing "Land of Hope and Glory." Brother Sami asked his audience to cheer if they were proud to be British ,and when they responded loudly, he said he couldn't hear them and asked them to cheer again.

How can anyone be proud to be British? Britain is the third most hated country in the world. The Union Jack is drenched in the blood of our brothers and sisters across Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. Our history is steeped in the blood of colonialism, rooted in slavery, brutality, torture, and oppression. And we haven't had a decent game of soccer since we lifted the World Cup in 1966.

Apparently Sami also said one of the selling points of Brand UK was having Muslims in the Metropolitan Police Force! Astafur'Allah! Dude, these are the same cops who have a shoot-to-kill policy and would have gunned down a Muslim last year if they could tell the difference between a Bangladeshi and a Brazilian. This is the same police force that has raided more than 3000 Muslim homes in Britain since 9/11. What sort of life is there on Planet Sami, I wonder? If he is so proud to be British, why is he living in the great Middle Eastern democracy of Egypt?

Apparently the sort of hysteria Sami helped encourage is also in America, and if it is happening on both sides of the Atlantic, then it must be creeping around the globe and poisoning the masses. Islamic boy bands like 786 and Mecca 2 Medina are also the subject of the sort of female adulation you expect to see on American Pop Idol or the X-Factor. Surely Islamic events should be promoting restrained and more sedate behavior.

Do we blame the out-of-control sisters? Or do we blame the organizers for allowing this sort of excessive behavior which demeans Islam? Or do we blame the artists themselves?

Abu Ali and Abu Abdul Malik, struggling for their Deen, would certainly not try to whip up this sort of hysteria. Neither would the anonymous heroic Nasheed artists who sing for freedom; check out Idhrib Ya Asad Fallujah, and you will know exactly what I mean.

Fallujah is now synonymous with the sort of heroic resistance that elevated the Palestinians of Jenin to the ranks of the resistance written about in the Paris Communeand the Siege of Leningrad. The US military has banned the playing of any Nasheeds about Fallujah because of the power and the passion it evokes.

If those Nasheeds had sisters running in the streets whooping and dancing, however, the Nasheeds may be encouraged because of haram activity surrounding them.

Quite frankly, I really don't know how anyone in the Ummah can really let go and scream and shout with joy at pleasure domes when there is so much brutality and suffering going on in the world today.

The rivers of blood flow freely from the veins of our brothers and sisters from across the Muslim world. Screaming and shouting the names of musical heroes drown out the screams coming from the dungeons of Uzbekistan where brothers and sisters are boiled alive in vats of water.

How many will jump up and down and wave their arms in the air, shouting wildly for justice for our kin in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, and Iraq? There are many more killing fields as well across the Asian and Arab world. Will you climb on theater chairs and express your rage over Guantanamo Bay and other gulags where our brothers and sisters are being tortured, raped, sodomized, beaten, and burned?

Or will you just switch off this concerned sister and switch on to the likes of Sami Yusuf because he can sell you a pipe dream with his soothing words and melodic voice?

Oh, Muslims, wake up! The Ummah is not bleeding; it is hemorrhaging. Listen not to what is haram. Listen to the pain of your global family.

Symbolic picture

2006-04-22T18:34:00.000+01:00

This is a picture that i took outside one of the gates of the Prophet's mosque in Medina one morning at around 3am. It shows a group of people all waiting for the gates to open so that they could rush to the rawda - the white carpeted area - of the Prophet's mosque before anyone else. After passing through these gates, and then taking a very short walk, you will find yourself standing in front of the grave of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

What i thought was symbolic about this pic was the shining light on the door because behind it is the grave of the one who illuminated this city. This blessed city is often called "Medinatul-Munawwara" which translates to "The illuminated city."

A sign of Prophethood?

2006-04-17T08:51:00.000+01:00

In a hadith reported in Sahih Muslim the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said "The last Hour will not take place … until the lands of the Arabs are once again pasture lands and (filled with) rivers."

The word that draws my attention to this hadith is "again" because it implies that there was a time in the past when the Arab lands were lands of greenery, lush and vegetation and teeming with the ecology that comes with such an enviromnent.

Now what is the one product that the Arab lands export to the rest of the world in enormous quantities? Crude oil.

According to the biogenics theory crude oil is "the product of compression and heating of ancient vegetation over geological time scales. According to this theory, it is formed from the decayed remains of prehistoric marine animals and terrestrial plants."

So could it be said that the discovery of oil is another sign of the Prophethood of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam?

----
Following my post about immigrants some time ago i came across this article in today's Guardian. Quote: "In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, she said that many were angry because their children could no longer get homes in the area following a large influx of immigrants and asylum seekers."

Planning needed

2006-04-15T02:06:00.000+01:00

I was at an aqeeqah party/ceremony last weekend and a couple of things happened there which i wanted to comment on.

One of the things that happened was that a female acquaintance approached the table where me and my wife were sitting. This lady isn't practising herself but she has a brother who is practising. So she came up to my wife and spoke briefly to her and just before leaving she said to my wife "Give my salaam to your husband; i don't know if he would like me to say salaam to him directly because my brother doesn't like women approaching him."

When i heard this, my first thought was, what a weird to say because i've spoken to her before (she's married to a distant relative of mine), and second, just before she approached us i had been speaking to one of the other guests on our table who happened to be a non-Muslim lady (it was a non-segregated event). So i wondered what had made her think that i would blank her?

There is obviously some confusion over the nature of male-female interaction here... and what i'm struggling to put into writing is that i've seen two extremes to which Muslims go here, one is where there is virtually a blanket ban on talking to the opposite sex, and the other extreme is chatting and flirting.

Imam Anwar mentioned in one of his talks that the nature of male-female relations is more liberal than the conservatives think, and more conservative than the liberals think, and i believe he is spot on.

The second thing i wanted to mention was that the event had a very strong Islamic theme to it. There was a talk at the beginning and then some guy got up to do some nasheeds and some recitation, but the darned thing is that in total it went on for about 2 hours! You could see the look of boredom and annoyance on the people's faces after a while. Ceremonies like this should be times of enjoyment and mixing with family and friends (segregated of course) and over-doing the nasheeds and recitation just killed it.

I remember being at a friend's wedding when the khateeb did a short talk in which he started talking about the high level of promiscuity of Britain's young girls and saying stuff like x percent of British girls had lost their virginity by the age of 15. It was entirely inappropriate for the occasion.

What i'm saying is that the Islamic side of events like this need to be planned a bit more carefully.

Two more reviews

2006-04-10T09:02:00.000+01:00

The gun and the olive branch, David Hirst.

I started writing a review of this book that deals with the Middle East conflict when i was half-way through it, but because it is quite long so full of information i gave up because i knew i couldn't write a proper review without having to write an essay. But i will say a few words.

This book like i said is long - almost 600 pages - so you have to be a committed reader to get through it. It is very well researched with the references to each section usually around 10 pages long, and while i wouldn't say that any one book could cover the entire history of that conflict in the detail it deserves, this book starts right at the beginning at the end of the 19th century when the political machinations of the zionists began and takes us up to almost the present day. It discusses the role of the British, the Americans, the Zionists, the Palestinians and the Arab governments and their contributions to the conflict.

I might touch later on a few things i learned whilst reading this book, but in the meantime i I would recommend it to people who don't know as much as they want to know about the conflict, and want to learn about it right from its inception.

Defence against Disaster, Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi

This book discusses the civil war and political strife that the ummah was plunged in during the end of the caliphate of Uthman all the way through to the time of Yazid bin Mu'awiyyah.

I've actually read this book before, but some discussions on blogs recently made me want to re-read it. I don't know why but i used to have a really good impression of this book, but when i came back to it this time my impression changed.

The good points are that this book discusses a topic on which there is precious little in the English language. It tackles lots of misconceptions that people have about the sahaba and what happened during the turbulent times around the time of Uthman's assassinations and without doubt after reading this you'll come away with a much better understanding of what happened at the time.

However, what lets this book down is that the translation is quite poor. Its let down by sentences that don't make sense and what it could really have done with is footnotes. There are events discussed in the book that require the reader to know some context. And there are also some expressions that the author quotes from the sahaba which really don't make sense if you translate them into English literally and they leave you thinking "what does that mean?"

Nevertheless, its a useful book and one which is worth reading. However, a the best discussion i've found in the English language on this subject is the 6-CD set that Kamal el-Mekki did entitled "The Fitnah".

Nokia N70 & PSP

2006-04-09T20:18:00.000+01:00

Just a quick review of two things i've bought over the last few months.

Nokia N70. A relatively new phone from Nokia in their N-Range. Its got a great camera (2 megapixel pics) and err... thats about it. The menu format is completely different to the format used by Nokia in all their phones up till now, and that took some getting used to. But tha main drawback to this is that this phone is damn slow. I would fire the people who wrote the software for this because the phone has such a slow response. Sometimes you can press three keys before the phone actually starts processing your key-presses, and sometimes it even locks up and you need to switch it off and on again to get it working. There are also some other problems with the phone. My first one had a buzzing noise coming from it whenever the backlight came on, and a colleague at work is now on his third one of these after being given 2 faulty ones previously.

So steer clear of this one is my advice.

I also bought a PSP. Now i'm not going to try and justify it (though humans are prone to justifying things they know are wrong or shouldn't have done, but more about that another time) but i've got 5 mates at work who also have PSPs and a couple of times during the week they'd disappear into a meeting room, pull down the blinds and try to kill each other on GTA.

Yep, i bought Grand Theft Auto - Liberty City Stories. Its the first GTA game i've bought and i can say that it definitely deserves its reputation. Its brimming with filth and violence... but it has great playability.

Some classics from Italian politics

2006-04-05T22:34:00.000+01:00

Italian Communist leader Oliviero Diliberto on the ruling coalition:
"We must get rid of these scoundrels in government. "

The rest here and a good collection of Berlusconi's here.

Pope John Paul in the news

2006-04-02T22:00:00.000+01:00

Listening to the radio i heard that the Vatican want to fast track former Pope John-Paul to sainthood. Now to become a saint you need to have performed two miracles and one of the people who has come forward as a witness to a miracle performed by John Paul is a lady who claims that he cured her of Parkinson's Disease. Isn't it an irony that Pope John Paul suffered from the very same disease himself? and how strange that people were allegedly being cured through him yet he didn't cure himself (or wasn't able to) of the disease?

[Link]

Who is Radek Bigos?

2006-03-23T16:31:00.000Z

When i moved into our new house about a year ago we found hundreds of letters from debt collection agencies and bailiffs, all trying to find someone called Radek Bigos. Radek Bigos is a Polish name.

What this unscrupulous individual had been doing was buying cars, registering them fraudulently to my address and then driving through London without paying the congestion charge, parking on double yellow lines, and generally clocking up fines wherever he went.

I got in touch with the DVLA (Vehicle Licencing Authority) who deregistered the cars from my address and thought that this was the end of the problem.

Unfortunately, 12 months later i am still getting letters through the post informing me that cars have been registered to my address, and a few days or weeks later these are followed by letters demanding that i pay penalty fines for motoring offences that Bigos has been responsible.

There are two Eastern European families who live near us who i suspect of being behind this but as yet i haven't been able get concrete evidence that it is them. They buy cars and leave them on my road with a "For Sale" message in the window, which takes up valuable parking space and also i found out is illegal.

Just the other day i spoke to a neighbour about the problem and he said that he is experiencing the same problem.

In the past year i've had to request that around 30 cars be deregistered from my address, and have seen letters which if summed up would demand around £30,000 in penalty fines.

When i spoke to the police about it they said "if we find the individual behind this, we'll have a word with him." After all the aggro i've been through they're going to "have a word with him???"
I'd rather not involve the police and find out who he is and torch his cars or at the least put some spuds up his exhaust!

How the Dutch want to define themselves

2006-03-15T11:55:00.000Z

I came across a story about the new citizenship tests in the Netherlands. Would-be immigrants will be shown a film showing "two men kissing in a park and a topless woman bather" to test whether their values are in harmony with the famed tolerance of the Dutch and basically fit in.

Lets leave discussions of Dutch tolerance to the side for a moment. This test is just plain disgusting. Is this how the Dutch wish to portray themselves as a nation? Aren't there people in that country who object to this video?

The one good thing about it is that since this test is basically targetting Muslim immigrants, it is that the Dutch identify Muslims as the ones who have a sense of morality based on traditional values - values which seem to be so loathsome to them.

And i wonder if you can draw parallels between what the Dutch intend with this video and the following verses from the Qur'an that quote a dialogue between the righteous Prophet of Allah, Lot, and his people of his town who practiced the sin of homsexuality:

And (remember) Lot when he said to his people "Do you commit indecency while you see (one another doing evil)?"

"Do you approach men in your lusts rather than women? Nay, but you are a people who behave senselessly."

There was no other answer given by his people except that they said: "Drive out the family of Lot) from your city. Verily, these are men who want to be clean and pure!"

[Qur'an 27:54-56]

No Khushoo'

2006-03-12T00:08:00.000Z

I've mentioned previously that though its great at my office that we have a room set aside for the Muslims to pray (and there are only three Muslims in total), its located right next to where i sit. So whenever time for salaah comes for me, i just have to walk a few steps and i'm ready to pray.

These last two weeks i've been snowed under at work and i've not been able to maintain khushoo' during my prayers. In fact, i'm ashamed to say that i was stuck on two problems separately, and the answer came to me whilst i was praying. God did i feel guilty.

Reminds me of a story involving a famous Imam when a man came to him and said that he's lost an item that belonged to him, and he needed help to find it. So the Imam told him to go away and pray two rak'ah nafal. So the man went away prayed and in the middle of his salaah he remembered where he had put this item. So he came back to the Imam to thank him, but was promptly blasted for allowing Shaitan to play with his mind and distract him from the main purpose of salaah.

"Little Mecca" in China

2006-03-01T08:26:00.000Z

Nice report from the New York Times - click here to view .

Immigrants

2006-02-24T08:55:00.000Z

I've been meaning to make some comments about the flood of immigrants into East London for a while but never got round to it - but i have some time now, so here goes.

When i was growing up, we used to have lots of whites living here. And for the most part i only have good memories of that time - particularly of the old fella who lived next door who would bring chocs and crisps for me and my brothers from time to time (this is when we were about 6 or 7).

As the years went by, more and more desis moved in.

Then from around 2000 onwards, East London started to become the home for thousands and thousands of immigrants. Many were were coming from then war-torn parts of Europe, in particular former Yugoslavia. I'm sure Londoners will remember the sudden appearance of the "Bosnian" women (don't know why, but they're always referred to as "Bosnian" even though lots were from Albania) who would be begging on trains with a couple of kids trailing in their wake, standing outside mosques, etc. around that time (though you don't see that as much these days).

They would come to the country and be given housing and benefits, and even back then, i remember some of the resentment that was building up amongst some of the whites. I remember talking to an ex-colleague of mine saying that she'd been waiting for a council flat for years, and then suddenly these asylum seekers turn up out of nowhere and are bumped to the top of the list and were receiving straight away what others had been waiting for for years.

The "white flight" to the suburbs of London, and to Essex was well under way when about 3 years ago there was another immigrant flood, and this time the immigrants were from Sri Lanka.

The last time i checked, the borough i live in was accommodating nearly 180,000 immigrants which was the highest in the country, and twice as much as the next borough with most immigrants.

I don't hold anything against immigrants specifically, but its plain obvious that these past few years, my borough has turned into a dump, and i think a large part of that is due to the immigrants.

I don't know whether its because they don't feel a sense of belonging here and therefore don't show any care for the area, but i've seen some shocking displays of uncleanliness and unhygienic behaviour from these people.

Up till the time i was a teenager, it was an absolute rarity to see someone urinating in the streets. In the past few years, i've seen immigrants urinating in broad daylight (we're talking around 5pm in the middle of summer) on a busy road. On another occasion there was another urinating at midday on a Saturday in view of our High Street.

Other times you see them walking down the road emptying their noses in the middle of the road. And i will never forget walking down my road and seeing some Tamil lean out of the window facing the road and blow his nose out. I thought "you dirty bastard - couldn't you go to your bathroom to do that!?" I mean, how could someone be so filthy? Is this how they behave back home in their own countries?

Now, there are also some great people amongst them. The family who run the local corner shop are hard working and they're pleasant to talk to, and i have no problem with them whatsoever. Perhaps i'll even invite them over for dinner one day. But the overall impression i have of these two immigrant communities the Tamils, and especially those from Eastern Europe is an overwhelmingly negative one.

Real Madrid 0 Arsenal 1

2006-02-21T22:33:00.000Z

A little known fact

2006-02-19T17:43:00.000Z

I bet you guys didn't know that if you travel on the London Underground and your journey is delayed by over 15 mins you're entitled to a refund for the single fare. What you need to do is pick up one of those Customer Charter forms you find next to the ticket machines and fill the claim form inside.

Mind you, i put in a claim for a refund back in the middle of December 2005 and i only received the cheque this past week!

--
We have some great news locally which is that Sh. Haitham al-Haddad is going to be giving regular circles in East Ham, London from this coming Tuesday onwards, insha'Allah. Even he can see that East London is where its all happening. So goodbye to you oh-so-posh brothers in W. London - even the shaikhs are moving down our way now :D

Harrassment

2006-02-16T15:56:00.000Z

I was listening to the Nick Ferrari show on radio a day or two after the dreadful July bombings in London and they were talking about the surge in racist attacks since the bombings.

So one guy calls in and says "Hi Nick, I'm a Hindu, and when i was getting into my car this morning a white van man pulled up outside my house and yelled 'Go back home you f***ing Paki!' and i've been really scared ever since and don't know whether to leave my home now.'"

haha! :D

btw. You have to be paki to appreciate the humour here.

Swiftly moving on, and on a more religious note i've put a link up on the left called Ibraheem's creed which hosts lots and lots of lectures in English by our beloved brother, Sh. Salim al-Amry. He has a commentary on Kitab at-Tawheed, Bulugh al-Maram, 40 hadeeth on Islamic Personality, and more. And its all in English.

How to give shahadah in 10 minutes...

2006-02-09T22:59:00.000Z

Alhumdulillah, I'm overjoyed to hear that Kamal el-Makki from the US is finally scheduled (insha'Allah) to come to the UK to do his popular course "How to get a shahadah in 10 minutes."

I've heard alot of good things about this course from the brothers in the US, and i'm really looking forward to attend it.

Just one other thing: Kamal has done an excellent series of lectures named "The Fitnah" which goes over the history of the turbulent time that started just before the assassination of Uthman radiAllahu anhu. Its a well delivered set especially in light of the precious little that is available on this part of our history in the English language. Its a 6 or 7 CD set and i am told that there will be copies available for purchase at the event, insha'Allah.

More info about the event is available [here]

Outbound Flight

2006-02-08T12:54:00.000Z

Last weekend i read "Outbound Flight." This is the latest Star Wars offering from - i believe - the best author in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Timothy Zahn. His two main strengths are that he writes everybody in character and his stories contain numerous plots and subplots and great twists. This is in contrast to some of the recent contributors to the SW EU - especially those who came on board for the New Jedi Order series, who are completely rubbish, and who i think have just jumped on the SW bandwagon to make a quick buck off of the name. I used to have loads of the SW novels: about 60 in total, and then i completely became disenchanted by the contributions of the EU authors, sold half my collection and haven't been buying the books for about 3 years.

This particular book is great because it details the history of two of my fave EU characters, Jorus C'baoth and Grand Admiral Thrawn (check my avatar) between SW I and SW II. The Outbound Flight project is basically an attempt to journey to a new galaxy and establish new colonies, carrying 6 Jedi Masters and 12 Jedi aboard.

I feel a bit short-changed because despite the book being around 460 pages long, the font is large and there is almost double-line spacing, so it comes to an end quite soon.

Now you might be thinking, i never knew Kashif was a nerd. But you don't know what a nerd is until you visit the Jedi Council Forums where amongst other things you can find ten page discussions on the structure of the names of the Nine Ruling Families of the Chiss Ascendancy ;)