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Who speaks for British Muslims?
A man from Mars lands in Blackburn. “Take me to your leader,” he tells a Muslim youth wearing a Johnny Wilkinson rugby shirt…
“Unite but follow me” – the tragic comedy of British Muslim representation
The only real difference between groups claiming to represent British Muslims is the order of the words: ‘Muslim’, ‘Association’, ‘Council’ or ‘Britain’.
Seeking a voice for London Muslims
Numbering one million, British Muslims are an integral part of London’s cosmopolitan reality. However, the level of representation remains shamefully low, argues Kumar Murshid.
Return of the brown sahib
With MP Khalid Mahmood’s track record, who needs Muslim political representatives, asks Shabana Khan.
Still much ado about nothing
Do we have the representation and leadership that we need to steer us through these difficult times? asks Khalida Khan
Chicken Tikka Masala Versus Test Cricket
Are we British Muslims or Muslims in Britain? asks M Siddique Seddon.
Who Are The “Moderate” Muslims?
There has been a recent upsurge in the global discourse about moderate Islam, with an assortment of Muslim individuals and groups rushing to claim this new public space. Kamran Bokhari finds out more.
The Search for Authority and Authenticity
Beyond the angry rhetoric of a black and white world lies a profound rejection of Islam’s classical heritage, argues Aftab Ahmad Malik
The Politics and the Promise of Civilisational Dialogues
In the wake of two major international conferences on civilisational dialogue, the search for common ground is as rocky as ever. Muqtedar Khan takes us behind closed doors to assess the possibilities and perils of the really “Big Conversation”.
Film preview: Hidalgo
A’isha Khan reports on an upcoming Disney movie which lampoons Arabs and Muslims.
Invocation: A petition of acceptance
A prayer of Muhammad ibn ash-Shahid al-Jaza’iri
Book extract: Loyalty and Belonging
Extract from Neil Jameson’s paper on the British Muslim identity crisis.
Film review: The Passion of the Christ
Mel Gibson’s latest hit is a double-edged sword, argues David Stulman
Fiqh questions answered by Faraz Rabbani
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FROM THE PULPIT
February 2004, Issue 354
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It is becoming clearer day by day that Muslims now living in the geographic West are a critical component of the global Muslim community. To some, they are vanguard forces operating deep within, so to speak, the belly of the beast, causing havoc and mischief within enemy forces. This colourful imagery is powerful and has many subscribers. But it is not one that we conform to.
Muslims living in the West – over 20 million of us – are not and should not be some kind of fifth columnist for any movement, let alone a crazed one. Our struggle is real and it is about our humanity and that of our neighbours regardless of their faith or absence of it.
Of course, we have duties and responsibilities as part of the ummah but our primary purpose remains our survival and prosperity as a spiritual community in the lands where we live. To achieve this we have to find ways and means of making ourselves relevant and useful to the society around us. That, unfortunately, is proving to be a very difficult task for a variety of reasons.
Few of us have grasped the uniqueness of our modern situation. There has never been so many of us outside the traditional lands of Islam in our history. And there has never been so many who have made hijrah out of dar ul-Islam because of the injustice, intolerance and inhumanity which exists there. But like the Companions who followed the Blessed Prophet, peace be upon him, to Madinah we can only return to Makkah if we succeed in creating a Madinah.
But we will have no Madinah to speak of if we do not make an effort to understand and respect the historical experiences of the societies we find ourselves in. It is imperative that we are clued up with what makes this society tick – or not tick.
It is heartening to see more and more Muslims getting engaged in the mainstream debates on citizenship, secularism and the whole notion of civic society. Though their contribution so far has been piecemeal, it has proved to be useful and of benefit.
Ultimately, however, the praise has got to go to those who have allowed this Muslim emergence. Whatever their motives, it is evidence that the system works. It is not perfect but that work, like any, is in progress.
Recently, events have indicated another unique quality of the Muslim community. In the past, however far from “home” Muslims went, it was always within some kind of religious milieu. This is not true of our situation today. Muslims in the West have to understand that their new homelands are zones where religion was vanquished on different levels a long time ago.
God and faith are private issues. We must learn to respect this if we are to be taken seriously. And those who champion secularism have both reason and justification and need to be engaged with both wisdom and good arguments.
It is time we move from unnecessary adversarial positions to ones of positive encountering. We must learn to listen compassionately and argue our views intelligently. At all times we should be open to learn from all those we come across in our lives. In a complex world we must learn to make sophisticated alliances in our endeavours. Our neighbours will always respect us for our principles. But only our compassion and humanity will endear their love for us.
An open, just and inquiring mind is the best weapon we can wield in our circumstances. Any other mental mindset – especially one obsessed with some pre-conceived "ism" – is just baloney. And may He increase us in wisdom and clarity. Ame en.
Fareena Alam
Managing Editor
fareena@q-news.com
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Itsy bitsy teeny weeny, yellow polka dot community
Battered and bruised, some Muslims are ready to put their trust in “quick-fix” solutions.
Anatomy of whitewash
The government may have been exonerated after the Hutton Report but a disturbing number of questions remain unanswered, argues Ger Francis.
Something in the air at Royal Holloway
There is something special in the air these days at Royal Holloway University in Egham, writes Ayesha Gamiet. Thanks to a unique partnership between the university and the Muslim community, a ground-breaking project is about to take shape.
Forging a new internationalism
Salma Yaqoob reports on the Second Cairo Conference and its potential for a new global movement against occupation
Speaking of Legalities
According to the European Convention on Human Rights, the French government will be breaking its own law if it bans the hijab
My disastrous love life
Another year gone and still no spouse. A promising introduction seems destined for the dustbin, yet hope springs eternal for the portly Butros Al-Bakr.
Making Our Homes Soulful
Nazim Baksh reflects on the downward spiral of the Muslim family.
“Freedom of Spirit and Strength of Mind”
In a time of mistrust and increasing isolation, Mustafa Ceric, Reis-ul-ulama and Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina, calls on European Muslims to embrace the way of interaction and rediscover the passion and cultural creativity of Islamic civilisation.
The Sacred Culture of the Bean
Little do they know, but coffee chains and addicts owe a debt to a mysterious Mr Hassan and his Soho coffee house, as Indlieb Farazi finds out.
Aerosol Arabic
Graffiti often conjures up images of disaffected youth, vandalism and urban decay. Muhammad Ali’s art challenges these assumptions. A combination of two very different artistic forms, he draws on his faith and the energy of the street to create a style that is uniquely western and Islamic.
Dismantling the Culture of Sectarianism
Sectarianism among Muslims is sadly, commonplace – all in the good name of preserving the purity of the religion. Imam Luqman Ahmed comments.
Life after Malcolm X
My 13-year-old granddaughter couldn’t imagine what life was like in the sixties as we sat together recently to watch a documentary on the life of Malcolm X. As I tried to explain to her what the world was like then, I realised that the identity of American Muslims in that time and the present is part of the legacy of the man who we came to call El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.
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