Brother Inshaal looks at why we assume Muslim majority countries are Islamic, when if you look at the evidence you would be shocked to discover which countries, in the world, are actually most Islamic.
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Tag: islamic
Stop calling them Islamic
This is a terrorist group and not a state,” Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters last week, according to France 24. “I do not recommend using the term Islamic State because it blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims and Islamists. The Arabs call it ‘Daesh’ and I will be calling them the ‘Daesh cutthroats.
That logic is certainly understandable, and the French aren’t alone in bristling at the idea that an extremist group gets to take the moniker “Islamic State.”
However it’s spelled, there’s another big factor: The group is reported to hate the moniker.
The Associated Press recently reported that the group were threatening to cut cut out the tongues of anyone who used the phrase publicly, and AFP have noted that the term “Daeshi” has been used a derogatory term in some parts of the Middle East.
We like this stance by the French Government and would like to see everyone follow in their footsteps and stop giving them any credence by using ‘Islamic’ when referring to this terrorist organisation.
The Halal meat fallacy
The whole point of halal meat not being stunned before it is slaughtered is that the animal is supposed to be healthy and well before it is killed. The point about slitting its throat with a sharp blade is that we take personal responsibility for what we are doing. I take it that the point about the animal not being killed in the presence of others is that the process is not one of callous mass production. And the need to mention the name of God (by Muslim, Jew or Christian) while doing this is not some creepy religious ritual but a reminder that all creation, humans included, exist under God’s care.
Secular atheists may not subscribe to the metaphysics, but the idea that all life – human or otherwise – shares some inherent and fundamental connection is a noble position to take (and, no, you cannot catch Islam from halal food). With the exception of Hinduism, the Islamic scriptures are probably the most diligent in insisting upon animal welfare.
The truth is that many Muslims in the UK ignore that most of the meat which is labelled as halal simply is not. Seeing as Muslims eat a disproportionally large amount of the red meat sold in the UK we can understand why it is easy to turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of animals and the practise of stunning before applying the Islamic method of ‘slaughter’.
An animal must be treated with respect and dignity throughout its life and it is not just the last two seconds of the animals life which matter and as Muslims we all need to stand together to demand real halal meat.
Original Source: The Guardian
Evolution is not Islamic
Chapter 2 verse 30 of The Holy Quran is used by Muslims to argue that the ‘Theory of Evolution’ is “un-Islamic”.
So in this video we look at two authentic commentaries of the Holy Quran on the verses related to creation to see what they say about creation. They refer to even older classical scholars to see whether there was a creation on earth before Adam.
Advanced economies ‘can learn from the Islamic system’
Funding agreements have to be backed by real assets in the form of property or profit flows. The esoteric financial instruments called “collateralised debt obligations” – the main cause of the 2008 global financial crisis – are not allowed in Islamic finance.
This is another important principle in Islamic finance: the avoidance of excessive risk. This puts many of the speculative techniques of modern conventional markets – derivatives and short-selling – in the “haram” (forbidden) category in Islamic finance.
The only part of Islamic finance that receives any media attention is that interest is forbidden in Islam. There are many other aspects such as partnerships, minimising risk, ban on speculation and tolerance shown to those who fall behind in instalments, that are not mentioned. This article discusses the fact that had principles of Islam been in operation the 2008 financial collapse would not have happened.
Original Source: The National
Islamic Jihad: Is Islam the first target?
Radical Islam, which today is growing in numbers all over the world, could ruin traditional Islam. The “Jihad for the purity of faith” proclaimed by the fanatics is trying to destroy not only the non-Muslim population of the planet, but even Muslims themselves. Radicalism has nothing in common with the Prophet Muhammad’s religion and is founded on political ideology of people far from faith, experts are convinced.
“The fact that radical groups purposefully use the terminology of the religious books and the ignorance of people, thus turning them into cannon meat and pushing them to kill their brothers in faith, in no way reflects the high ideals of Islam. They are nothing else but bandits who have overstepped the commandments of the Almighty. Unfortunately, today religious teachings are used for antihuman purposes increasingly often. For example, Jihad is primarily not a war against the unfaithful and defectors, but a fight against oneself, against one’s lowly feelings in order to perfect oneself, to be a decent, cultured and good person”.
Perhaps, if a common interpretation of the Quran appeared in the world of Islam, radical Islamists would have a much more difficult time manipulating the consciousness of the followers of Islam. Russia has already started working on such a canonical interpretation.
Jihad of radical Islam, which is not Islam but a political movement which uses the name of Islam, is killing Muslims as well as non-Muslims in the name of religion. This is not Islam but a disservice to Islam.
Original Source: Voice of Russia
Islamic Law & Christian Persecution
The persecution of Christians is “the greatest story never told in the Western media” and “the vast majority of serious anti-Christian violence is carried out in the name of Islam,” according to Ed West in an article for The Spectator.
Earlier this month, MPs raised concerns about the plight of Christians in the Middle East during a debate at Westminster Hall, highlighting that in relation to Christian persecution virtually every country in the region reported “suffering of either high, high to extreme or extreme suffering.”
Faith Minister Baroness Warsi said in a recent speech: “A mass exodus is taking place, on a Biblical scale. In some places, there is a real danger that Christianity will become extinct.”
Muslims in the Middle East talk a great deal about the rights and freedoms they give to ethnic and or religious minorities. They speak of protection of minorities and freedom of worship.
This article, linked below, shows that this is anything but the truth and that Muslims are driving such a level of discrimination against minorities that soon there could be none left.
Original Source: Christian Concern
European Leaders Feared Islam State
The West is always telling Muslims that they are too sensitive and prone to believing conspiracy theories. When Muslims said that the West did not want to help Bosnian Muslims because they didn’t want a Muslim state in the heart of Europe, we were told not to be stupid.
European leaders extolled that they are humanitarians and that religion does not come into decision making on issues like this.
On October 1st, the CIA declassified three hundred documents which related to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 during the Bill Clinton presidency.
Now let us look at what Bill Clinton said he was told by the European leaders. The same people so eager to free Iraqis and Afghanis did not want to lift a finger to save Muslim women and children being massacred in Bosnia because they feared an Islamic state in the middle of Europe.
He also noted that one of the problem for stopping the war in Bosnia was lack of “a unified policy” among Western powers.
“On the ninth, in my first meeting with French President François Mitterrand, he made it clear to me that, although he had sent five thousand French troops to Bosnia as part of a UN humanitarian force to deliver aid and contain the violence, he was more sympathetic to the Serbs than I was, and less willing to see a Muslim-led unified Bosnia.”Clinton adds one more factor — “some European leaders were not eager to have a Muslim state in the heart of the Balkans, fearing it might become a base for exporting extremism, a result that their neglect made more, not less, likely.”
The death of thousands of Muslims was preferable to European leaders than seeing a unified Muslims led Bosnian State.
Original Source: worldbulletin.net
Mujaddids and Armed Jihad – A Translation
Qutb-ud-Din ahmad ibn Abdul Rahim, better known as Shah Waliullah, was an Islamic scholar, reformer and founder of modern Islamic thought who attempted to reassess Islamic theology in the light of modern changes. He was the Mujaddid of the 12th Century AH.
The most important of Shah Waliullah’s works is ‘Hujjat Allah al Baligha’, in which he made an attempt to present the teachings of Islam in a spirit of scientific objectivity.
What follows is an extract from the introduction to its Urdu translation which has been rendered into English by Shahid Aziz and is taken from pages 29-31 of the Urdu book.
A Divinely raised scholar or mujaddid is obedient to the Prophet
Some short-sighted people raise this objection regarding Shah sahib (r): “Why did he not conduct a jihad?” The answer to it is this, that:
1. First, this point is not credible that, for a Divinely raised scholar and mujaddid, it is essential to take the sword in hand and engage disbelief and shirk [Footnote: ‘Associating others with God’] or those who are heretics. A Divinely raised scholar or mujaddid is obedient to the Prophet.
The question is: From among the prophets and great personalities how many, not content with the propagation of the true religion, took up the sword for jihad? Is the life of the Holy Prophet himself at Makkah not an example for us? Is it not jihad to raise the pen to eliminate disbelief and shirk and heresy? And is this glorious deed not included in the meaning of jihad that a Divinely raised scholar, by the power of his pen, cuts through all those veils on account of which the shining face of the true religion is hidden from the eyes of the people and shows its true beauty to the public, unveils its truths and high moral teaching and makes known to every section of the nation of Islam their errors and mistakes that they had been making for centuries.
If the answer to this question is not in the negative, and certainly it is not, then I have no hesitation in saying that Hazrat Shah sahib (r) was a great Divinely-raised scholar, a great mujaddid and a great warrior…If, after this, there is still anxiety in someone’s heart as to why Hazrat Shah sahib (r) did not conduct armed jihad then we have no answer for them except silence.
Now as promised, I briefly sketch the achievements of Hazrat Shah sahib’s (r) jihad with the pen….
Comment: Hazrat Shah Walliullah was not unique in conducting his mission in this manner. Only when Muslims faced persecution, for example at the hands of the Sikh rulers of the Punjab, did the Mujaddid of the age, Syed Ahmad Shaheed, conduct armed Jihad.
Sadly, the Sunnis betrayed his hideout for a bribe and he was martyred. Interestingly, he crossed the territory ruled by the British but did not conduct armed Jihad against them because there was no religious persecution. Almost all other Mujaddids conducted their Jihad with the pen.
Top Islamic Diplomat visits Lahori Ahmadiyya Mosque
Ihsanoglu said, “We work within the legal framework of the countries concerned.”
”The OIC does not discriminate against women,” he added. “We have many programs to support woman.”
The OIC will also not interfere with the religious life of Muslims in Suriname, he told Ewout Lame of Dew Ware Tijd News.
In the linked article above, Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu who is the General Secretary of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) visits one of our Mosques’ in Suriname.
What is Hell Part One
Is there a hell?
This question was asked on the BBC show ‘The Big Questions’ on Sunday 24th Feb 2013.
In this first part of two videos we will try and present the Islamic concept of hell to answer the question posed on the BBC show.