Islamic Revival

Our essential characteristics are not defined by the things we have no control over, but rather the things which we do. Devoid of all worldly distractions, each mature person of sound mind living on this vast planet will readily acknowledge that the land in which we are born, the colour of our skin, the people we originate from or are attributed to, are areas that are not within our immediate control. Placing a new judgement or exercising a pre-existing stereotype upon others for these very issues in the cold light of day, can ultimately hold no intrinsic or evidential value. Although we may experience the world from this common point of origin, it does not define who we are in any ultimate sense.   What defines us as people of this earth, is the content of our character; the voluntary actions we undertake, the beliefs to which we subscribe.  These are that areas that we consciously have control over, exercising the extent of our own free will or volition. In the Qur’anic text, such co

‘May you live in interesting times’ S upposedly originating as a curse in Chinese, though used more colloquially as an expression in English – ‘May you live in interesting times,’ appears to be quite an apt descriptive phrase to chart the course of current events.  Perhaps more so than usual, it carries with it an even bitter sense of irony. Globally, the Coronavirus, or rather the specific strain called Covid-19, has in the face of a very short space of time, not only dominated pretty much all discourse, but resulted in severe restrictive measures being imposed on a sizeable portion of humanity at large.  Outside of major international conflict, the restrictive measures that have been swiftly imposed upon populations are unprecedented in modern times.  Media outlets report death tolls across continents by the hour; politicians reinforce their policy adoptions by the force of security agencies, and an international billionaire with a messiah-like complex, positions to think of himself

(The following is a section reproduced from an article originally published in the academic journal Political Theology 11.6 (2010) 826-845) Research supported by the United States Department of Homeland Security conducted in 2007  found that an average of 71 percent of those interviewed across four Muslim countries (Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia and Pakistan) agreed with the goal of requiring “strict application of Shari’a law in every Islamic country”, with 39% agreeing strongly, while 65% agreed with the goal of unifying “all Islamic countries into a single state or Caliphate” in line with classical orthodox Islamic position that holds that there should be a single ruler for the Muslim community. The same research found that 74% wanted “to keep Western values out of Islamic countries”, and yet 75% held positive views of globalization while 67% believed that “a democratic political system” was a good thing [1] .  Other research in 2006 which covered 10 Muslim countries f

Announcing Two Occasions: The Beginning of the Blessed Month of Ramadan, and the Launch of Al Waqiyah Television Channel I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ “The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided y

What Comes After Brexit? News: Last week, the British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and sent a formal notification to the EU about Britain's decision to leave the union. Britain’s divorce from the EU comes after a period of 44 year s , and will last for a period of 2 years. The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to galvanize the country to work together during the separation period. She said, “We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future. And now that the decision has been made to leave the EU, it is time to come together.” The President of the EU Council Donald Tusk struck a conciliatory note and said there was “no reason to pretend this is a happy day” adding there was “nothing to win” and that now the Brexit process was about damage control. Brexit is now fueling intense speculations about the future of the European Union. Comment: No matter how hard British and European offici