Victim of persistent marketing...

Went out and got an iPad today...

This is very funny...

How to start Revolution 2.0

For those of our friends, brothers and others who still miss the point re Tunisia and Egypt revolutions, the starting point to have a look at is this NYC article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/world/middleeast/17sharp.html?_r=1&hp

On HT... again...

Why is it that HT is simply unable to face reality? Why do you have to have constant talk of conspiracies and plots when you consider "Revolution 2.0"? Why can you not just accept the truth of the matter - namely that the fairy tale you have told yourselves that the Muslims yearn for Sharia State is exactly that - a fairy tale. Those of us who actually lived in Muslim countries for prolonged periods of time and interacted with the population have been aware that: 1. Muslims have no idea what a "Sharia State" trully is - most people, like in the West, associate such a state with hudud 2. the "battle of ideas" has long been lost in favour of the West among the youth.

It is also funny how the poster in this blog talks about "Surveys show the silent ‘majority’ of Muslims want Islam" - if it is a "silent" majority it would not be talking to surveys.

What HT needs to do is wake up and smell the proverbial crap - it is time to admit that your interpretation of "the method" is wrong, learn from Revolution 2.0 and reassess your fiqh of the seerah. If HT had been working on the masses instead of trying to cozy up to the army, it may have been HT who would have led the "Revolution" and not Google marketing executives armed with a phone and a Facebook.

TRAILER: Is Islam a threat to the west? The Big Cambridge Debate

Forays into social media

I am trying to work out if there is a single tool for posting from one place to all the places I post to... Confusing... I know...

Islam4UK: An Islamic Perspective

Assalamu aleykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious and the Source of All Mercy.

I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the one and only true God, without partner or companion. I testify that Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the Messenger and the Prophet of Allah. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his family and his companions.

To proceed:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In light of the recent commotion associated with our brothers and sisters in the Islam4UK movement, I would like to remind myself and all Muslims about the rights that neighbours and the communities we live in have upon us and the manner in which we call people to Islam.

The fundamental difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim in the question of political activism lies in the fact that a Muslim’s duty lies not only to his Lord but also to the community he lives in whereas the non-Muslim is not bound by such a duty. When I talk of the community, I take the narrowest possible definition here – that of a Muslim community we live in – although this is not the only possible definition of the term.

When acting in public space, attracting the attention of the media and public in general, any Muslim must take great care to ensure that his actions do not harm the Muslim community he lives in and that his actions are carried out in the manner that is prescribed by Allah (swt). This is clear from the following hadith:

“The Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe...” (Bukhari)

The meaning of the hadith is clear and, as has been explained by the ulama, it implies not only physical attack or verbal abuse towards Muslims, but covers all actions and all statements made by a Muslim that have the effect on the Muslim community.

Allah enjoins upon us in the Quran (4:36):

“Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are of kin, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet) and what your right hands possess: for Allah loves not the arrogant, the vainglorious”

Once again, here the implication of the verse is not only a direct one, ie performing the acts of charity or kindness or fulfilling one’s duties, but in fact it is also a command to refrain from causing harm.

In another hadith, the Prophet (saw) said:

“One who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgment must not cause hardship and inconvenience to his neighbour...” (Bukhari and Muslim)

And:

“That person will not enter Paradise whose neighbour is not safe against his mischief.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

It is clear from the above that our duty lies unequivocally in ensuring that our words and actions do not bring harm to the Muslim community we live in. With this in mind, we have to acknowledge and understand that, irrespective of validity or invalidity of the message, conveyed by the Islam4UK, the manner in which this message has been presented has had a serious detrimental effect on our community – our mosques have been firebombed, our brothers and sisters have been attacked and abused and the general public has been incited against us, fuelled by the Islamophobic media for the sake of sales and profit. The leadership of Islam4UK are not a bunch of naive fools, unaware of the meaning and after-effects of publicity – instead their actions, as stated by them, have been intentionally calculated to draw the greatest amount of publicity to the issues they are advocating. Once again I stress that I have no intention to comment in any way on the validity of those issues, but the side effects of their actions have had and continue to have a clear adverse effect on our community. It is also the case that the potential for these adverse effects on the community were evident to every sensible individual. Furthermore, Allah has informed us in the Quran (6:108) that the outcome we are faced with and have been faced with for quite a while is exactly what would happen if we behave ourselves in the public arena in the manner that is not appropriate:

“Revile not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance”

And this is exactly what is happening today – as a result of the members of the community having reviled those things which are sacred to the general public in the society we live in, we are now reviled, Allah and the Prophet (saw) are openly reviled and no respect is accorded to our religion. Allah also informs us of the correct way to propagate and advocate that which we stand upon:

“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious...” (Quran 16:125)

The above verse enjoins on all of us to understand the context of our words and be aware of the consequences, for “wise and beautiful preaching” does not only mean being smart and eloquent in a debate, but, since by Islam4UK’s own admission, they are involved in calling to Islam, it also means doing it in a media-aware, consequence aware and appropriate way. Spotting a placard “Behead those who insult Islam” or those that threaten terrorist attacks on Europe is not “wise and beautiful”. Furthermore, Allah instructs us to argue “in ways that are best and most gracious”. Making a point by intentionally seeking to cause offence is not a way that is best and definitely not gracious in any way. Those of us involved in calling to Islam must also bear this point in mind.

I ask Allah to grant us all guidance in the matter, to safeguard our community and to keep us on the right path.

All that is wrong in this article is from me, all that is right is from Allah.

Wa salamu aleykum,

Abdulhafid ar-Russi