Imam Zaid Shakir and Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

How Islam treats other religions

Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

How Can we Tell Co-Workers about Rasulullah ﷺ ? 

 

Habib Muhammad Abdur Rahman Al-Saqqaf

Righteous Work as Means of Salvation

Hate and ignorance preaching

It seems strange to be talking about this but as usual my pretty bonnet has a bee in it. So it’s time to do something and get to the root of the problem.



Increasingly, we are witnessing a more radical style of preacher who is almost devoid of actual knowledge. Instead they are people who want to enforce cultural norms. Thus vindicating the bad aspects of the culture. 

We were bemused when we first saw this and were slightly confused because what they were saying seemed plausible.

Yet, the more we thought about their words the more holes we found and the cheese started to smell. So let’s be clear to what they were trying to say; they negated the need to seek knowledge and informed the Muslims that their culture was fine.

Now there are positive aspects of culture and there are negative aspects. When culture backs up religion then it is positive when it goes against the religion that's when it is negative. We began to realise that even though he was not preaching hate he was preaching ignorance. It made me wonder if he was a scholar and how he could now negate the point of seeking knowledge. As knowledge is what makes someone a scholar. Was he threatened that someone would take his place or was it because he did not understand the situation that he was in? Islam is a religion of spreading knowledge so how could he sit in the seat of the minbar and be so comfortable preaching ignorance?


Hate 

This is something that happens a lot and it is really causing a lot of damage to those serious students of knowledge who want to learn their religion.

As they cannot study with a teacher who continually attacks groups for their beliefs. I do think there are times when things need to be said but do we need to have bbc style repeats every time we switch on? It is really abhorrent and disgusting.

As the one preaching this, is wasting time as the student needs to study not be indoctrinated. Because that is what the teacher is doing. Students are fed up of this approach to studying because it implies that the student does not know what he is talking about.

This is another way that the village mentality lives on. Do you think that I do not have a brain so you have to keep repeating the same refutation against the same group more than once a lesson? That’s what it sounds like and that is what it feels like. In reality the teacher or whoever is preaching hate. Whether he is right or wrong is another matter. The teacher is preaching hate not religion or knowledge. This seems to be an old plague that is running amok in our time.


Who loses? 

Everyone who hears the speaker loses, as the method of hate preaching means exclusivity. In other words only him and those who follow him are the true bastions of Islam and everyone else are lairs or cheats. He is the real loser and will be accountable for sins that he is unaware that he is committing.

Those people who are blindly following out of misplaced religious zeal are zealots who have lost control, as they sprout racist comments because that’s what exclusive Islam brings.

It’s only you and your tribe who are right and everyone else are wrong. Racism is against so many Islamic principles but despite this, hate preachers propagate this ignorance. You see they act like Islam is their property and that only they belong to Islam. Instead of serving they are the served, instead of belonging to Islam they say Islam belongs to them, as it is only them who are the true Muslims. Is it because they feel threatened as the opposite group are spreading at increasing rate? Something that their group is not! So in order to check this they are attacking with the only way they know how by refutation.


The cure is balance 

The correct balance is seen by the majority of the scholars that I have placed on this blog. The reason being that they are balanced and fair in their approach which is something we do not always see in other people.

We instead see a type siege mentality in which only those who agree with their scholar are correct Muslims and all the rest are not true Muslims. The Islam that attracts me is the Islam that is inclusive and not the Islam that is exclusive. It is only exclusive because of their definitions.

We are not saying that all groups are correct some are clearly incorrect and need to be avoided. We do not accept those who go against the sound opinions of the four Sunni schools of Islam and those who correct Sunni beliefs. We do reject those who try to add things to the deen that are not part of it as well propagating the incorrect beliefs of their deceased ‘scholars.’

Now we disagree with certain groups and we refute them but we do not make it our lives work to incite people to attack and fight them, in some sort of misconstrued act of defence of Islam, instead it comes out as something ugly and disgusting. I would really like to see a balanced Islam emerge from the remnants of the religion that has been passed down to us. There are many sunnahs that our parents practice that have been left by other communities. So it behoves us to take the flag from them and hold it high or else we could fall where they did not.


This is meant to make people think about their actions because I do not hate anything more than a hate or ignorance preacher. The Muslims in the UK really have a lot to do if we are to be successful and you cannot preach Islam to people you hate and that’s why dawah, in this country, has not even begun.

Habib Muhammad As-Saqqaf and Sheikh Saad Al-Attas

Dawah without damage

Geoffrey Chaucer’s debt to Islam

Geoffrey Chaucer’s debt to Islam

Is the title unbelievable? Well the truth is stranger than fiction and in this case because of the truth there would be no fiction! Chaucer is described as one of the most important figures in English language. Here are some interesting quotes that you should consider.

“Geoffrey Chaucer is remembered as the author of Canterbury Tales, which ranks as one of the greatest epic works of world literature. Chaucer made a crucial contribution to the English literature in writing in English at a time when much court poetry was still composed in Anglo-Norman or Latin.” (http://kirjasto.sci.fi/chaucer.htm)

“Lilius Giraldus, one of the foremost humanists of Italy, in a survey of European letters, recognises the eminence of Chaucer in English.” (http://www.bartleby.com/212/0701.html)

“He is called the great translator.” (ibid)

There is a more tenable or tangible link to his work and we shall explore here. He was well educated and well travelled in a time in which the renaissance was flourishing innovating thought in Europe.

“In 1387, he began his most famous work, 'The Canterbury Tales', in which a diverse group of people recount stories to pass the time on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.” (http://kirjasto.sci.fi/chaucer.htm)



Influences?


His sources claim to be: “Chaucer took his narrative inspiration for his works from several sources, such as the Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Loris, Ovid's poems, and such Italian authors as Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.” (http://kirjasto.sci.fi/chaucer.htm)

Giovanno Boccoccio is a famous author and his major work was the Decameron which is a work that contains one hundred stories. Also look at Dante’s work the Divine Comedy which is work that was influenced by hadith and the stories found in Islam.

To understand this we need to realise that it was Italy not Spain that was where the renaissance brought Europe to life. This was due to them being open to trade with the Islamic world and also the openness of receiving ideas from the Muslim world. Despite Islam being present in Spain it did not transfer as much knowledge to Europe as Italy did.

So even these Italian links mean that they were direct influences from the Islamic world but hang on there isn't there an even more interesting link?



Astrolabe


Chaucer wrote a treatise on the Astrolabe for his son and used Arabic terms in it. Why? Because that was the language of science!

“But natheles suffise to the these; trewe conclusions in Englissh as wel as sufficith; to these noble clerkes Grekes these; same conclusions in Grek; and to Arabiens; in Arabik, and to Jewes in Ebrew, and to; Latyn folk in Latyn; whiche Latyn folk had hem first out of othere dyverse langages, and writen hem in her owne tunge, that is to seyn,in Latyn.” (Part one p.29-36)
(http://www.umm.maine.edu/faculty/necastro/chaucer/texts/astr/astr107.txt)


Here are the Arabic terms and their equivalent Latin terms:
Alkab Iota Aurigae
Alpheta Alpha Corona Borealis
Alramih Arcturus
Alkaid Eta Ursae Majoris
K.Alasad Alpha Leonis
Algomisa Procyon
Alhabor Sirius
Alghul Beta Persei
Alnath Beta Tauri
Markab Alpha Pegasi
Alradif Delta Cephei
Alnasir Alpha Andromedae
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treatise_on_the_Astrolabe)

He must have known Arabic or else he could not have used Arabic terms this is the proof. If he had not known the terms then he could not have used them!

The astrolabe is an Islamic invention by Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari (d. 796 or 806).



1001 nights


There is at least a tangible link to his work and the Islamic legacy. 1001 nights was a famous text, by Masudi, that Europeans were reading and as they had not read anything like it it had an influence on Europe that we cannot imagine. Mostly the influence was upon the literature that was written subsequent to the reading of this text.

Look at the similarities between the Canterbury tales and 1001 nights. Both have a grand narrative that runs separately alongside other short stories. In 1001 nights we have the King and his wife Scheherazade as the story runs alongside the other stories that are told in it.

In the Canterbury tales we have the Monks on their way to Canterbury amusing each other with stories. Is that just coincidence?



Conclusion


We consider there to be more than a tangible link to Islamic/Arab culture in the Canterbury tales. In fact if there was no link then there would be no Canterbury tales and if there was no Canterbury tales then there would be no English literature and there would no luminaries like Shakespeare or Dickens. Ponder the fact that all English root meanings are sourced from words in Middle English the very time of Chaucer. Look in any good dictionary or many online dictionaries and you will see them source almost all words from Middle English. They had no dictionaries in the West until Islam came and taught them the meanings of words! It was only then that they began to write down the meaning and thus they began to preserve their language.

The whole cause of western literature a direct result of the book that was sent to a Prophet who dwelled in vast desert plains. The book was the first book in the history of Arabs because they had no books until the Quran came and as a direct result nowhere else had books like the Muslims did. The influence developed into books on Islam and literature which then gave birth to 1001 nights. This influence ran into Europe and into the books that we have now, because people like Chaucer who was directly influenced by works of Islam.

So even though some fools burn our book, its because of our book that they have books or else they would not have any books to burn!!


Canterbury cathedral

Look at this pulpit and tell me how it looks like a minbar.
http://www.clicksandclicks.com/vrc_03d.shtml


Look at this roof and tell me that there is no Islamic influence.
http://www.clicksandclicks.com/vrc_04b.shtml

Islam and Shakespeare

Islam and Shakespeare
The Arab/Turkish/Islamic influence in Shakespeare

In the book ‘What Islam did for us’ Tim Wallace Murphy states, (P.215) “European culture owes an immense and immeasurable debt to the world of Islam.” Elsewhere he states, (ibid) “We in the West owe a debt to the Muslim world that can never be repaid.”

What is this debt? What is it exactly that the West owes to Muslim world? The author does not elaborate and I feel that it was necessary for him to do so because we cannot fully appreciate what he means until we find out what he knows. 

Another historical account is the threat of Queen Victoria to abdicate, if more was not done to assist the Ottomans. These jewels of the past need to be unearthed and placed for people to see that Islam effected the course of more things than the media and others give us credit for. 

This is an attempt to look at the Islamic and Arab influences in the works of the great playwright William Shakespeare. He must have lived in a time when Islamic culture had permeated the western world. Yet, this is not documented anywhere nor is it spoken about. One of the best commentaries of any time are the works of literacy and looking into them can help us understand something that we have all lost in the great wastelands of time.

We do believe that there was a conscience effort in the 18th and 19th centuries to remove anything that related to Islam from the modern western world. This was done by forwarding works that had Islamic influences but were not sourced. So the stories that they took were hidden away and their own works replaced them. This is not only about literature this is about other aspects such as science, philosophy and much more.

Macbeth

For example in the Shakespeare play Macbeth the following appears: Lady Macbeth, “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." (Act five scene one) 

This extraordinary piece of information must have meant something to the people who say the play; as his plays were aimed at the average person. So perfumes from Arabia must have reached a level of fame that others would know instantly what he meant without explaination. There are no footnotes or other explanatory notes to explain this but someone in our time would have difficulty understanding it. Macbeth was said to be written between 1603-07 and if history books are to be believed then there was very little contact between Britain and the Islamic World but this small quote proves that all wrong. There must have been some contact or at least some trade that have a reached a notoriety that average people knew about. It could possibly compared to Curry in our time, an item that is from the East but has arrived at a level of notoriety that the average man would know what you meant when you said, “Let’s go for a curry.” So the area of research in terms of literature would be something that would be worth pursing by examining any available texts of that time.

Merchant of Venice

The Prince of Morocco has a speaking part, albeit small, but it’s there. This shows us again that the culture of Venice must had Muslims trading there which is also significant. In act 2 scene one ‘a tawny moor’ all in white speaks. This is an accurate depiction of Muslim dress as it is part of Islamic tradition to wear white as it was recommended by the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) himself.

He says, “Mislike me not for my complexion,” the commentary referring to the dark colour of the Moor. Moors are generally depicted as black men who marauded their way into parts of Europe. Though he could have been Berber or Arab. Strangely the text states that his attire was all white and in a BBC adaptation, he wore black!

He also comments on his bravery fighting for Sultan Solyman, who can be without doubt, a reference to Suleman the magnificent; he being one of the greatest of the Ottoman Sultans. It is also interesting that Suleman died in 1566 and this story was written between 1596-8; more than thirty years after his death. So if this prince had fought for the Sultan then he would have been very old at least in his sixties. As the Sultan died at the age of 71. He also speaks about fighting the Persians which is also interesting because the Ottomans fought against the Shia Safavid Empire, many times. So Shakespeare was aware of this as must, at least some, of his audience. The Sultan also employed a naval army in the Mediterranean region.

King Henry the Sixth Part one

At the end of scene two
“Was Mahomet inspired with a dove?”

According to the Arden Shakespeare series on this work edited by Edward Burns p. 140 It refers to the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon, “Sceptical Elizabethan accounts of his powers, following a medieval tradition, allege that he attracted a dove to appear to speak to him by lodging corn in his ear.”

Scene three

“This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain, To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt.”

Damascus being the place where Cain killed his brother Abel Genesis 4.8.



King Richard the Third

Scene V
“What, think you we are Turks or infidels?”
After Richard ordered the execution of another person. A response due to misrepresentation of the Ottoman empire.



Titus Andronicus

Has a character called Aaron but this more likely to be a follower of the Jewish tradition and the play is set in Rome and not in the authors time.



The Comedy of Errors
Act four Scene 1
“That’s cover’d o’er with Turkish tapestry.”
A possible reference to a tapestry made by the Ottomans and this indicates to a luxury item of cloth. Tapestry was a mode of communication and in British history none was more famous than the Bayeux tapestry.



King John
Act 2 Scene 1
“Richard, that robb’d the lion of his heart and fought the holy wars in Palestine.”
More war propaganda. 



The Taming of the Shrew
Act 2 Scene 1
“Fine linen, Turkey cushions bost with pearl.”
More proof of trade between England and the Ottoman Empire.



King Richard the Second
Act 4 Scene 1
“Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross; against black pagans, Turks and Saracens.”
More Crusader vigour as well as racism.



King Henry the fourth Part one
Act 1 Scene 2
“What say’st thou to a hare, or the melancholy of a Moor-ditch?”
A ditch that used to surround the city of London.



King Henry the Fourth Part two
Act 2 Scene 3
“And every word a lie, duer paid to the hearer than the Turk’s Tribute.”
Act 5 scene 3
“This is the English, not the Turkish court.”
Two references which are unclear.


King Henry the Fifth
Act 1 scene 2
“Like the Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth.”
A reference to the play Bajazet which is about the Ottoman Sultan Bayezud I 1360-1403.
Act 5 scene 2
“Compound a boy, half French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard?”
The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople modern day Istanbul still ringing in their ears.
Also reference to the beard which is interesting because beards were common place in England, at the time.


Hamlet
Act 3 Scene 2
“If the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me.”
Another reference.


Othello
He is described as a moor most likely he was a Muslim yet he fights against the Ottomans in Cyprus which even now remains disputed somewhat.
Act 1 Scene 3
“The Ottomites reverend and gracious.”
“Valiant Othello we must straight employ you against the general enemy Ottoman.”
“These moors are unchangeable in their wills.”
Proof that the Muslims did not break their treaties.

Act5 scene2
“Drop tears as fast as the Arabian Trees; their medicinable gum.”
Maybe gum tree or even Miswak tree?


Antony and Cleopatra
Act 3 scene 2
“O Anthony! O thou Arabian bird.”
The Phoenix.


Coriolanus
Act 4 scene 2
“I would my son were in Arabia, and thy tribe before him.”
Arabian culture.



King Henry the eighth
Act 1 scene 1
“They made Britain India.”
In reference to their new trade route that by passed the Ottomans.



The phoenix and the turtle
“Let the bird of loudest lay; on the sole Arabian tree; herald sad and trumpet be; to whose sound chaste wings obey.”

And on that final note I bid you good morrow and good night!

Islam and the Canterbury tales of Geoffrey Chaucer

Islam and the Canterbury tales of Geoffrey Chaucer

We were surprised to learn that there are many Islamic references in this text.

It was written between 1339 and 1346 in time in which the aftermath of the Crusades were still ringing in the ears of the Europeans. But the reconquista of Spain was still in full swing as the Muslims last vestige of power in Granada was being threatened. Sometimes I think that the history may look at the war on terror in a similar way to the way the Crusades are seen by reasonable people now.

So it is in this caldron of emotions that this text was written and even though the messages stand the test of time there remains one question. Was the text influenced by a thousand and one nights? Let us go through the references of this text. We are using the Penguin popular classics edition.

“No Christen man so oft of this degree; In Gernade at the seege eek had he be; Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.” Line 55-58, P.5.

This was in reference to the capture of the city of Grenada from the Muslims.



“Again another hethen in Turkye.” Line 66, p.5.

Again another reference to the Ottomans.



“... Razis, and Avicen, Averrois...” Line 433-434, p.20.
Razis referring to Imam Muhammad Ibn Zakariyya Al-Razi he was a pioneer in many sciences.

Avicen meaning Avicenna or Ibn Sina one of the leading philosophers of all time.
Averrois meaning Ibn Rushd another one of leading philosophers who championed Greek philosophy even though they were widely rejected in the Muslim world Europe to them on.



“Yemen on foot and communes many oon,”
P.86

Not sure about this reference.


“His Almageste and books greet and smile.”
p.107 The Miller’s tale

This refers to Ptolemy’s work on astronomy but this work has an interesting story because this Greek work came into Europe by the means of Arabic. A 9th century translation of the Greek text was sponsored by the Caliph Mamun and then this was eventually reached Spanish in the 12th century and Latin in the next. Also note that it is referred to in its Arabic name not in its Greek name. Isn’t it amazing that Europe failed to benefit from its Greek works until the Muslims came along?

Later in the text Ptolomee is used in the French language which indicates from where it was taken.

Islamic Outreach/Dawah

In the Merchant of Venice the Prince of Morocco said, "Mislike me not for my complexion." (Act 2 Scene 1). He knew that their eyes could clearly see a difference but here we are concerned with the differences that cannot be seen. The Prince of Morocco was speaking to the people of Europe and he addressed the differences in people in terms of skin colour and belief. Have we tried to address these?

Islamic outreach is something that I feel quite strongly about and it is something that we have failed to do in the West. Explaining Islam to its people in a way that can be digested and understand has not happened. This has to be our starting point, realising that we have failed in this matter. Only then can we begin to build for the future. If we do not accept this point then we are likely to continue making the same mistakes over and over again.


Is Islamic outreach something that we should be concerned about?

Well you should be concerned about this if you are a lover of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) because that is one of the main purposes of Prophethood. To call the people to the message of salvation; the message that will save them from everlasting humiliation. Most of the time there are only a few groups performing this obligatory action in the West. The Sunni “Sufi's” seem to have given up outreach with the exception of the scholars. Calling people to Islam is an obligation on the community.

Anyone who comes from the Indo-Pak background owes their Islam to Sufi's. This is no exaggeration, war did win over the political power but the hearts of the people was won over by Sufism. When we say Sufism or Sufi's we mean those who follow the sacred law correctly and follow a spiritual leader. We do not mean those who are called Sufis and are in many ways worse than those who do not pray!

Sufi's like Sayyid Yusuf Al-Din (could that be Yusr al-Din?) a descendant of Sheikh Abdulqadir Jilani who saw a dream ordering him to leave Baghdad and go to Sind. He eventually won over seven hundred families who converted to Islam at his hands. (Spread of Islam in the World T. Arnold p.274)

In our times the so-called Sufi's come out for the Mawlid and are not interested in speaking about Islam to anyone. This is not the way of the Spiritual masters who have preceded us and or the one who gave us this religion.


The Preaching of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him)

He would supplicate for people to become Muslim and he would facilitate their Islam after they came into Islam. His prayer was one of the reasons that Umar ibn Al-Khattab became Muslim and he supported Salman the Persian (may Allah be pleased with them both) after he became Muslim. So this is the way of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) and it is nothing new. Dawah was something that he said he would continue to do until it became manifest or until he died trying.

According to the book Foreign policy of Muhammad by M. S. Qureshi he states that the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) sent thirty letters to kings and sent over eighty delegations to tribes explaining Islam.

“Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this.” (The Cave 18:6)

The Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) was anxious that people enter into Islam.

Ponder the following narration:
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “The garden is the obligatory reward of anyone at whose hands someone becomes Muslim.” (Tabarani kabir 786, Awsat 3456 and Saghir 439)

Now we have established that we have to call people to Islam; we have to establish how:
“Invite (people) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel. And argue with them in the best of manners. Surely, your Lord knows best the one who deviates from His way, and He knows best the ones who are on the right path.” (The Bee 16:125)

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (May Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “The Prophets were ordered to converse with people according to their intellects.”

We need to speak to people in the West using information in the way that they can digest. This does not mean we demean Islam, we should explain Islam, honestly.


Dawah

Come from a root Arabic word دعا which means to call or summon. دعوة which can mean to invite or to appeal. We are inviting them to the appeal of unchanged religion meaning that they will enter into endless bliss by becoming Muslim.

We are only responsible to deliver the message, once this is done our responsibilitly is over. It is up to them to become Muslim or not. In the Tibetan language Dawa means the moon. We want people to see the beauty of the man who is more beautiful than the full moon.


What should be our next step?

Our next step is to engage local Masjids into giving out the correct outreach to non-Muslims. If they are not willing to do anything for outreach then we have to engage groups outside the Masjids. This is something that is becoming increasing apparent. Many Masjids do not understand the environment that they are in and thus other centres have to be opened by like minded individuals who are ready to do this work.

Here are some points that we think are important:

1) We need to have English speakers who are open to speak about Islam to non-Muslims. Be that having open days for the public or for select groups of people like school groups.

2) We need to have soup kitchens that feed the poor.

3) We need events where people can come and ask questions.

4) This events where people can get together. Leeds new Muslims is a group of concerned Muslims who bring all those who have recently converted together to have a meal. This is normally a weekly event and this gives so many people chance to interact and make new friends. It is not easy to become Muslim and they need as much support as we can give them. Recently this program has been copied in Dewsbury and its results have been extremely positive. There are many Muslims in our communities who hide their Islam and live in areas where there is little hope of assistance. This program brings hope and brings them together with other Muslims who can help.

These are some things that we feel are important and need to be addressed. Of course there could be more.


The individual

Most of all we should be extremely careful of how we interact with other people because that can also have a bearing on whether people become attracted to Islam or not. If they see an enlighten human being who is a Muslim then Islam becomes attractive however this is not the case when they meet a rude and obnoxious Muslim.

Acts of kindness should not be seen as anything small they should be seen as ways of attracting people to enter Islam. We do have a collective and an individual responsibility concerning the outreach of Islam and this needs to be taken seriously. Muslims have to note that they can play a large role in making a new Muslim feel welcome. Even if they do not know much themselves as long as they know where to go to gain knowledge. Any small action is something that could be massive on a personal level.

We need to accept new Muslims into the fold and make them feel welcome. I have lost count the number of English Muslims who are seen as outcasts because they do not come from 'back home.' This is rubbish, Islam is not about a racist or tribal religion. Anyone can be a Muslim and they can be from any race of people. Also if you see a English Muslim in the Masjid who has finished praying, do not go up to him and ask him if he is Muslim! This is most stupid thing you can do! Invite them for some food and do not kill them with spices!

If you know or find a new Muslim in your area then support them as much as you can by encouragement. Get them the right books, prayer mats, invite them to good lectures and take them to teachers to learn. Do not sufficate them and if they have questions then pass them onto someone else knowledgable. They need support and avoid informing them that so and so group is the wrong group to follow, unless they are clearly wrong. As this may confuse them in the early stages of their development. Let them grow and let them learn at their own pace.

All that glitters is not gold but the gold we have can be shared without deminishing.

Have we contributed to the growth of far right groups?

A few years ago I rang a news reporter to complain about an article that a reporter wrote about Islam. We spoke for half an hour or more and he had made his points and so had I. When we talked about a particular party he said, quite abruptly, that it was because of Muslims that the dead far right groups had been revived. I had answered all his objections except this one but there was little that Muslims locally could do about world politics.


After ending the call I began to think about what he said. The events that are played out on a world level were taken advantage of by the far right groups. They played on this fear then fed the public their nonsense. Then the following thought began to plague me, was it because of our lack of engagement of Islam in our communities? Had it contributed to the growth of these groups? For the first time in history these groups are having a greater impact and they are winning votes as well as seats in local councils.

They used to propagate fear and hatred about foreigners but now they openly attack Muslims. Another contributing factor was the growth of political apathy that had lead to resentment of the ruling party.


They also used badly reported localised events to drive their message home.


What was our reaction?

Like anything else, in this country, our reaction was minimal if anything. Other groups who are against these groups continued their opposition to them. These groups are mostly made up of non-Muslims. Local leaders did speak up but were their voices drowned out by the media and relegated to a line or two. Or was it the quality of the speakers who could not speak English fluently, so could not get their views eloquently across.


What is the solution?

The only solution is that we must engage in forms of outreach that are relevant to the countries that we live in not the countries that we come from. Some forms of outreach work in countries that we come from but do not work here. For example the Naat or Qasida gathering was an event that anyone could attend. This was relevant in places that we come from but not in the UK, as these events are held behind closed doors. So they do not have the same relevance that they would have if they were held in the Indo-Pak world.

We also need to have people who are trained to speak to the media.

We need to engage with religious societies and use interfaith gatherings to our advantage and not use them to discredit the religion. At the same time it does concern me that many people are not into faith so a large amount of the target audience is missed out.

We have deep social problems that need to be tackled and solved. These problems are swept under the carpet and are ignored. We have to show some courage and attempt to resolve our problems.