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issue 27 vol.3
May/June 2015
The self-determiningworld system of Islam
2
Disclaimer: Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not nec-essarily coincide with the editorial views of the publisher or islam today. All infor-mation in this magazine is verified to the best of the authors’ and the publisher’s ability. However, islam today shall not be liable or responsible for loss or damage arising from any users’ reliance on information obtained from the magazine.
Publisher: Islamic Centre of England 140 Maida Vale London, W9 1QB - UK 2 2
Contact us
Editorial team
Back Cover
22
islam today magazine intends to address the concerns and aspirations of a vibrant Muslim community by providing readers with inspiration, information, a sense of community and solutions through its unique and specialised contents. It also sets out to help Muslims and non-Muslims better understand and appreciate the nature of a dynamic faith.
From the Editor
5
Life & Community
6Society’s norms can sometimes add pres-sure to the lives of individuals. Sabnum Dharamsi discusses the experience of an adopted child and her struggle with self-esteem
10Not being able to have children has a great effect on the mental wellbeing of women. Talking to some women who have gone through this experience, Batool Hay-dar shares their stories and experiences
14
Rashid Rose asks why Black communities around the world, specifically in the UK, USA and the Caribbean are apparently at the bottom of the commercial, economic and social ladder and what is being done to redress this problem
Art
18One to one with Aysa Ali
20Newsha Tavakolian
21Tiraz with fish motif - Silk
The Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia
Cover
22
Not responding well to the social needs of the community we live in will bring chaos and failure for Muslims says Yasser Ahmed
Opinion
26
Julia Khadija Lafene reflects on the mean-ing of freedom of speech for Muslims and how best they can respond to mockery and insult
Faith
30
With the holy month of Ramadhan start-ing at the beginning of summer this year, Harun Yahya reminds us of its special features and the effect it has on believers across the world
32Converts, Embracers, Reverts, Submitters, …are some of the terms used by those who embrace Islam. Ali Carlentini discusses the importance of using the right one
4
Interfaith
34
As the British government passes a law on three-parent babies, Frank Gelli takes a look at the differing views within the religious establishment
Health
38
Advances in genetic manipulation have opened new possibilities to remove ge-netic diseases. Laleh Lohrasbi examines the procedures involved in creating a three-parent baby
What & Where
42Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy Qur’an
Education, Extremism and Criticality – Conference
‘What does being Welsh mean to me?’
Muslim-Jewish Panel Series: Modern Jewish and Islamic philosophy
The Super Hero Run 2015 -Islamic relief
Texts to Live by - Love and compassion
School digital session- Digital Islam
Sukuk Summit 2015 - ‘Globalising Sukuk Beyond Tradi-tional Markets, Structures & Asset Pools’
The Kaaba and the Kiswa
Minorities and Popular Culture in The Modern Middle East: Representation and Participation
Advanced Ibn Taymiyya Study Weekend
Symposium on Religious Conversion
Conference: Wittgenstein and Interreligious Communica-tion
BRISMES Annual Conference: Liberation
Glossary of Islamic Symbols The letter (s) after the name of the Prophet Muhammad(s) stands
for the Arabic phrase sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam, meaning: “May
God bless him [Muhammad] and grant him peace”.
The letter (a) stands for the Arabic phrase ‘alayhis-salaam, ‘alayhas-salaam (feminine) and ‘alayhimus-salaam (plural)
meaning respectively: (God’s) Peace be with him/ her/ or them.
5
A
EditorFrom the
6
Sometimes society’s norms can add pressure to the life of
individuals. Sabnum Dharamsi discusses the experience of an
adopted child and her struggle with self-esteem
Outsiders to
‘normality’
W
24
Somewhere in our psyches we carry an
idealised image of family – maybe two
parents who stay together, children, …
Although these perceptions … seem surface
discourage behaviour outside these norms.
8
Our thoughts matter and they make a
difference. Whether they come out in body
language, in conversations, or the way these
thoughts get crystallised in the media or
popular culture, they carry weight.
9
“And the blind man and the seer are not equal, neither are those who believe and do good works (equal with) the evil-doer. Little do you reflect!” (40:57-58)
fitri
‘And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.’ (30:22)
Sabnum Dharamsi is a thera-pist and co-founder of Islamic Counselling Training.
10
MissMothe
Not being able to have childr
mental wellbeing of women. Ba
of some women who have gon
11
sion:erhood
ren has a great effect on the
Batool Haydar shares the stories
ne through this experience
12
T
Do We Need Help?
The Pressure to Repro-duce
medical intervention, the challenges only
increase. Whether they decide to go down
the path of continuing to try for children
should be a private decision, but often
family and community get involved even
though their intervention is not solicited.
1
Seeking Out The Sense
11
In His Hands
26
*All names have been changed.
Inevitably, it is the women who have to
bear the burden of both personal grief
and societal stigma. In cases where there
stigma can be confused with religion and
women end up feeling that they are not only
incomplete as women, but also as Muslims
Batool Haydar is a wordsmith who has writ-ten many articles and blogs
14
Spearheadingchanges in the
Blackcommunity
Rashid Rose
and social ladder and what is being done to redress this problem
15
16
T
Self-identification
‘Everyday life in early West African Empire’
1 12 1
we were not born in Africa and hence are not African’
1 18
In an effort to gain some economic
inspiration, Black people should look back at
life in Africa before the Europeans’ arrival.
A map drawn in 1375 CE shows a trader on camelback coming to the great leader of the Islamic Mali Empire, Mansa Musa. He is holding a huge gold nugget.
1
Things are changing
Fragmentation of the Black community into
several identities has contributed to their
disconnection from their historical cultural
heritage. [This] … has produced a narrative
of disempowerment which partially accounts
for their low socio-economic status.
Rashid Rose is Co-founder of the Afro-Caribbean Muslim Federation
18
“Some of the sahaba (Prophet’s companions) went to the King of Persia to convey the message of Islam. And when they went before the King, he laughed at them and sent them away with a large chest as a gift, but the chest was filled with dirt and earth. One of the sahaba became very angry and said ‘how dare he!’ The other said ‘no, don’t worry. This is a sign. In no time, we will have this land.”
21
What prompted you to start a theatre company?
1996
Why theatre as a means of artistic expression?
Art Editor Moriam Grillo
Story-tellingOne to one with Aysa Ali
19
Why is story so important?
How does story relate to Islam and the Qur’an?
20
16
1980
2015
2011
Photography Newsha Tavakolian
21
969 11 1
The Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia
1998
Laila Saab: Muslim Communities of VenezuelaThrough May 2015
‘Symbol of Power and Beauty: The Art of Muslim Warfare’Through August 2015
00
18
Moriam Grillo is an international artist. She holds Bachelor degrees in Photography & Film and Ceramics, her current projects include a commission for the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham.
The place to Be
Heritage10 11
22
The self-determiningworld system of IslamThe self-determiningworld system of Islam
2
Looking back at Islamic civilisation
Yasser Ahmed explains how
understanding historical processes
is fundamental in helping Muslims
to produce a more authentic
narrative on Islam and of important
role it continues to play in the world
History
24
T 1800
1966
The misportrayal of Islam in today’s world
has produced a simplistic understanding that
takes no account of its historical, religious,
and cultural and knowledge-based heritage
that successfully produced great Islamic
civilisations.
25
10
When social scientists and researchers of
the imperial powers of Europe began to
study Islam in around 1800, they did it in
an effort to separate it from its historical
position in history. They struggled to
produce a narrative of European superiority
and distinctiveness.
26
Free speech and Islam
Muslimsthe dilemma
for
Lafene
for Muslims and how best they can respond to mockery and insult
2
T ‘freedom of speech’
18
28
everyone can give their opinion publicly about any
topic and can do so in any way they like including
using mockery, satire or insult to get a point across.
29
49 1
25 6
29
Julia Khadija Lafene graduated in Modern History from Oxford University. Since embracing Islam she has studied Islamic psychology and self-knowledge.
In Muslim countries the tradition of freely criticising
the government has not developed to the extent
it has in the west since most governments have
suppressed it. But there is a long tradition of
questioning and discussing religious issues.
0
A54
8
With the holy month of Ramadhan starting at the beginning
of summer this year, Harun Yahya reminds us of its special
features and the effect it has on believers across the world
The abundance of the holy
month of RamadhanThe abundance of the holy
month of Ramadhan
1
65 6
11
6
The Qur’an being sent down in the month of Ramadhan
‘The month of Ramadhan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and discrimina-tion. (Qur’an 2: 185)
2
1211
11
A divine transformation takes place in
Muslims in the month of Ramadhan. Disputes
aid and solidarity, and therefore goodness,
all increase.
God reveals in the Qur’an that it was sent
down in the month of Ramadhan. It took
23 years for the whole of the Qur’an to be
revealed, either in verses or sometimes in
whole chapters. That happened more or less
during the 12 years of the Makkan period
and 11 years of the Medina period. Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, is a Turkish author and an Islamic creationist
2
As Islam’s power of attraction brings new people to the faith,
Ali Carlentini argues against using terminologies of self-
Why I am not aRevert
R
(such as Arabs, Persians, Turks….)
‘indigenisation’ / ‘localisa-tion’
If we take into consideration that
one of the general meanings of
in character, form, or function,
overall experience of changing
one’s faith. The key point here is
4
Interfaith
Three-parent
babies:right or wrong?
Three-parent
babies:right or wrong?The possibility of having babies carrying the genetic DNA of three individuals
is now a legal reality. Frank Gelli explains the current debate within the
religious establishment on three-parent children
5
W
such as three-parent babies is the so-called
such technology you may start an irresistible,
fatal slide into something undesirable or
6
9
such as three-parent babies is the so-called
such technology you may start an irresistible,
fatal slide into something undesirable or
Revd Frank Julian Gelli is an Anglican priest, cultural critic and a religious controversialist, working on religious dialogue. His last book ‘The Dark Side of England’. An exposé, is available on Amazon Kindle.
88
Health
Health Editor Laleh Lohrasbi
Babies to be created
from three people
99
The mitochondria are passed down the
maternal line, … About 2,500 women in
Britain are at risk of bearing children with
estimate that around 125 babies are born
with the mutations in Britain every year.
Laleh
Lohrasbi examines
40
1920 82 128
20 000
0 054
2 500
125
40
Father’s sperm
41
Pro and against
0 054
2000
2016
41
The Church argues that there should be
more time for consultation and research …
In the Islamic faith the involvement of three
people in a fertility procedure such as where
the egg of the mother is replaced with one
from a donor is already practised.
Dr Laleh Lohrasbi is a pharmacologist. She has worked as an editor for the medical section of “Hamshahri”, a daily newspaper in Tehran.
42
Through May & June Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy
Qur’an
By Shaykh Bahmanpour Venue: Islamic Centre of England, 140 Maida
Vale, London W9 1QB
Time: Every Friday starting at 7:45pm
8 May Education, Extremism and
Criticality – Conference
Speaker: Professor Humayun Ansari OBE, Royal
Holloway Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Venue: Jeffery Hall, UCL Institute of Education, 20
Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
Fee: BERA members - £10.00 and Non-BERA
members - £20.00
12 May ‘What does being Welsh mean to
me?’
Time: 5:15pm - 6:15pm
Venue: John Percival Building, Colum Drive,
Cardiff, CF10 3EU
Muslim-Jewish Panel Series:
Modern Jewish and Islamic
philosophy
Time: 5.00pm
Venue: Rooms 8-9, Faculty of Asian and Middle
Eastern Studies (FAMES), Woolf Institute 12-14
Grange Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DU
More Info: http://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/events/
17 May The Super Hero Run 2015 -Islamic
relief
1 000
Venue: Regents Park
Registration fee: £22
Fundraising target: £100
Register: https://www.doitforcharity.com/book-
online.aspx?eid=2773&cid=45985&charity=true
For more information email challenges@
islamic-relief.org.uk
31 May Texts to Live by - Love and
compassion
Venue: London Inter Faith Centre, 125 Salusbury
Road, London NW6 6RG
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
More info: maggie.hindley@londoninterfaith.
org.uk
Through May & June
School digital session- Digital Islam
Venue: The British Museum
Time: Wednesday 6 May 10.30 & 12.30 and
Tuesday 9 June 10.30 & 12.30
For Key Stage 3 & 4 students.
Maximum group size: 15Free, booking essen-
tial. Cancellation and no-show charges apply.
Phone: 020 7323 8181
3 - 4 June Sukuk Summit 2015 - ‘Globalising
Sukuk Beyond Traditional Markets,
Structures & Asset Pools’
2014
2015
Time: 9.30am - 5.30pm
4
Venue: Jumeirah Carlton Tower - 2 Cadogan
Place, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 9PY
Fee: £1,695.00 pp
More Info: http://sukuksummit.co.uk/
10 June
The Kaaba and the Kiswa
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Venue: Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS, Thornhaugh
Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG
12 June
Minorities and Popular Culture
in the Modern Middle East:
Representation and Participation
Organised by: The Woolf Institute.
Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Venue: Brunei Gallery: Room B102, SOAS
University, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,
WC1H 0XG
More Info: http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/events/
13 - 14 June Advanced Ibn Taymiyya Study
Weekend
Speakers: Professor Yahya Michot [Hartford
Seminary, USA] and Professor Jon Hoover
[University of Nottingham, UK] Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm Venue: Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London,
WC1E 7HX Fee: from £50 for weekend More Info: http://islamiccourses.org/courses/
15 June Symposium on Religious
Conversion
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm Venue: Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern
Studies, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, CB3 9DA More Info: [email protected]
24 - 25 June
Conference: Wittgenstein and
Interreligious Communication
Conference Organiser: Dr Gorazd Andrejč
Time: 9.00am - 7.30pm
Venue: Westminster College, Madingley Rd,
Cambridge CB3, UK
More Info: https://wittcomm.wordpress.com/
24 - 26 June
BRISMES Annual Conference:
Liberation
20112015
Venue: The Middle East Centre, LSE and Political
Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE
Fee: Full Conference (2.5 Days) - £240
More Info: http://brismes2015.com/