An exhibition that has just opened at the Science Museum is celebrating 1,000 years of science from the Muslim world.
Entry deleted by request on 2010-01-22
One of Sunni Islam's most prestigious institutions is to discipline a cleric after he issued a decree allowing women to breastfeed their male colleagues.
You hear the word "Islamophobia" bandied about a lot these days. Here is an alternative definition:
Islamophobia is a fear of losing life or liberty to Islamic rule merely because the laws, sacred texts, and modern practices of Islam demand the submission of culture, politics, religion and all social expression. It tends to afflict those most familiar with the religion, while sparing the more gullible.
Check out the manifesto of the Council of Ex-Muslim of Britain.
A former British National Party activist who converted to Islam in prison is trying to radicalise young prisoners, the BBC can reveal.
The Guardian newspaper's associated website features a number of blogs including Blogging the Qur'an:
Each week, writer, broadcaster and cultural critic Ziauddin Sardar will blog a different verse or theme of the Qur'an. Guardian columnist Madeleine Bunting will help frame the debate.
Dr T. Hargey, Chaiman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, had a letter published in today's Times - No to 'super mosque', in which he calls integrated British Muslims and British people at large to oppose plans for a giant Tablighi Jamaat sponsored mosque near the Olympic Village in East London.
Check out this Google video where Chaplain James Yee, former US Army Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo, discusses how he became a Muslim and then goes into detail about Guantanamo and his arrest and threatened court martial while serving as chaplain.
I have just read Martin Amis' wonderfully "politically incorrect" piece about "Islamism" called The age of horrorism on the Guardian website.
MuslimHeritage.com invites you to discover 1000 years of missing history and explore the fascinating Muslim contribution to present day Science, Technology, Arts and Civilization.
Last year producer Monica Garnsey travelled undercover to Iran to investigate the execution of teenager Atefah Sahaaleh, hanged in public in August 2004 for having had sex outside marriage. Her Guardian Article Death of a Teenager describes the risks she took in illegally filming there, and paints a disturbing picture of life in Iran. Her film "Execution of a Teenage Girl" will be shown on BBC2 at 9pm tonight.
Here are those Muhammad Cartoons on a site where they are highly unlikely to be taken down. Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that started it all, has won the Hypnocrisis Strongest Magical Sigil Award 2006 for their efforts.
What is it with Islam and music? Someone recently tried to explain it by saying that music is unnatural and that Muslims should instead listen only to the sounds of nature. Of course they listen to prayers coming out of electro-acoustic transducers bolted to the top of mosque towers, but for some reason that is allowed. And what about clothes? Shouldn't Muslims therefore walk around naked so that they can see each others bodies in the natural state that Allah created them, rather than covered in man made casements? Sorry for going off on one, but on Saturday I made a big effort to take a mobile soundsystem along to a demo supporting UK Guantanamo detainees and was told not to turn it on because some of the detainees are strict Muslims and don't approve of music. What a load of bollocks! Here is my report on the day's events.
Responding to a complaint by the Organisation of Islamic Conferences (OIC) over twelve caricatures of the prophet Muhammad published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September, Louise Arbour - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - has appointed two UN experts on racism to carry out a detailed investigation into what Arbour characterises as a "disrespect for belief".
Thursday 28th July 2005 the Evening Standard published a mendacious, defamatory and highly inflammatory article directed primarily at Dar Al Taqwa bookshop. Dar Al Taqwa responded by writing a letter to the Evening Standard on the 29th July 2005 - which they refused to print.
A group of Muslims barged in to the Regent's Park mosque and denounced the Muslim Council of Britain, whose leaders were meeting to launch their manifesto for the general election. They are reported to have said that voting was against Islam and that Tony Blair should go to hell.
Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who made a controversial film about Islamic culture recently, has been shot dead in Amsterdam, Dutch media report.
A friend in Pakistan directed me to a piece called Radical Islam Appeals to the Rootless by Oliver Roy.
The 2001-11-19 issue of The New Yorker contains an interesting article by Bernard Lewis called The Revolt of Islam.
Banking regulators say they have given permission for the UK's first purely Islamic bank to start operating.
The link I gave for the UH Islamic Society has gone dead. I guess it will be sorted out sometime next term, so in the meantime check here for general information about UHSU clubs and societies.
Although Islam Online is a useful resource for information about Islam I must say that it contains some seriously fscked up stuff. For example, this page justifies the burning or stoning to death of consenting adults for the supposedly "heinous crime" of indulging in certain forms of sexual behaviour. Does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean nothing to these people? I am well aware that it is not only Muslims who hold these views, but (as far as I am aware) even the most malevolent of fundamentalist Christians are rarely heard proposing such extreme retribution. We all have a right to disapprove of things but I have no time for those who would attempt to impose their own (religiously derived or otherwise) morality on others. Fortunately I have Muslim friends who agree with me, and who would far rather associate with gays and lesbians than they would with the sort of sick bigots who talk of condemning them to death.
Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradwi, who has been banned from entering the US since 1999, has been given permission to visit Britain.
A Muslim community centre - thought to be the biggest of its kind in western Europe opens in London on Friday.
Wikipedia states that Islam is the latest (c. 622 CE) of the three major world religions whose basis is Abrahamic monotheism (along with Christianity and Judaism).
About a month ago, the Islamic Society of the University of Hertfordshire held an Islam Awareness Week. I attended the last of three days of talks, listening to Daud Matthews on "Science & Islam" and Abu Muntasir on "Islam-phobia". As a Scientist I was not at all convinced by Daud's talk and in my opinion he misrepresented Science, most seriously when discussing evolution. On the other hand, he did point out things in the Qur'an which seem like they might imply a greater level of understanding of the Universe than I would have expected - interesting, but certainly not to be taken as any kind of "proof" of the existence of God.
I was far more impressed by Abu Muntasir, one of the founding members of JIMAS, who's "peace & love" attitude inspired in me some feeling of hope for humanity. Some of his talks are available as mp3 files.
While searching for information about Abu Muntasir I came across a website called United Shade of Swords which reproduces a number of documents highlighting the dark side of Islam. One of these appears to be a virulent attack on Abu Muntasir, accusing him of "sucking up to the British Kuffar (anti-Islamic) establishment".
www.zenatode.org.uk Ian Gregory 2010