Mapping the contours of Jihadist groups in the Sahel

Folahanmi Aina, King’s College London The Sahel region, an area covering 3 million sq km, has been a hotbed of Islamic Jihadi groups in recent years. Today, the region has no fewer than seven insurgent groups scattered in six countries. The area stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and encompasses a dozen countries. These include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. Jihadi groups have taken advantage of a number of underlying conditions, which fuel local grievances across the Sahel. These include endemic poverty, inequality, high unemployment levels, … Continue reading Mapping the contours of Jihadist groups in the Sahel

The Silence of Muslims is Haraam!

Imagine your daughter, sister, wife or mother – kidnapped and the kidnappers use your religion – Islam as an excuse for their crime. What do you as a Muslim say? Imagine a criminal using Islam as a front to carry out atrocities against innocents – imagine that an innocent victim is your loved one. What do you as a Muslim would feel? Imagine a criminal using and abusing the teachings of the Last Prophet PBUH and claiming he is doing this because he believes that this is what Islam teaches him. Would you defend the Prophets honour or would you … Continue reading The Silence of Muslims is Haraam!

A John Hagee Fairytale: “Blood Moons” and The End of Times

  by BILL BERKOWITZ FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT (Photo: Roadcrusher)In the course of his long career Pastor John Hagee has been chasing the end of times, beating a muscular pro-Israeli drum, establishing the world’s largest pro-Israel organization, and accumulating extraordinary wealth. Now, with Blood Moons rising, his End Times war chest is bubbling over. “I believe that the heavens are God’s billboard, that He has been sending signals to planet Earth, and we just haven’t been picking them up.” – Pastor John Hagee Harold Camping, the Oakland, California-based preacher who wrongly prophesized the coming of the End Times is now gone, … Continue reading A John Hagee Fairytale: “Blood Moons” and The End of Times

Mothers’ Day is religiously permissible; there is nothing that prevents it and there is no harm in it. Rejected innovations are innovations which are in contradiction to the Shari’a. Things whose basis the Shari’a sanctions cannot be rejected and there is no sin upon the person who does them.

Can I Celebrate Mother’s Day? Answered by Dar al-Ifta al-Masriyyah The Question Can I Celebrate Mother’s Day? The Answer Man is the creation of Allah. Allah Most High has honored man for his humanity: He molded him with His own hands, breathed into them from His Spirit, ordered the angels prostrate to him, and expelled Satan from His mercy because the latter arrogantly refused to obey his Lord’s command to prostrate to man. Respecting humanity is one of the angelic characteristics that forms foundation of Muslim civilization. Dishonoring, humiliating, and disdaining humans are provocations of Satan that shake the very … Continue reading Mothers’ Day is religiously permissible; there is nothing that prevents it and there is no harm in it. Rejected innovations are innovations which are in contradiction to the Shari’a. Things whose basis the Shari’a sanctions cannot be rejected and there is no sin upon the person who does them.

Saudi clerics urge Muslims to shun 99 Names!

Saudi clerics urge faithful to shun ‘Islamic’ superhero series By AFP   Saudi Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al Sheikh. PHOTO: AFP RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s top clerics have declared an Islam-inspired cartoon series, which earned praise from US President Barack Obama, a “work of the devil” that Muslims should not watch. The television version of superhero comic book “The 99″ is being aired by Saudi-owned satellite channel MBC3, based in Dubai in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates. But in a religious decree carried by Saudi websites on Monday, the clerics ruled the series blasphemous because the superheroes of its title are based on the … Continue reading Saudi clerics urge Muslims to shun 99 Names!

Cultural terrorism in the name of Islam

  DESTROYING the imprints of history, culture and tradition can be termed ‘cultural terrorism.’ The recent attacks on cinemas in Peshawar and elsewhere weren’t simply acts of terrorism but also depict the mindset of the attackers: they wish to destroy diversity. Extremists in this part of the world want to not just snatch away the right to life, but also eliminate culture. The cinema still attracts poor folk.   These attacks affect the country’s dying cinema industry while depriving the working class of an easily accessible form of entertainment. But it’s not just the cinemas. Attacks such as those on … Continue reading Cultural terrorism in the name of Islam

The Kharijites and their impact on Contemporary Islam

Shaykh Seraj Hendricks Much of the excesses and extremism that we observe today may be understood in terms of the origins and unfolding of Kharijism during the first few centuries of Islam. While a number of writers – both past and present – are of the opinion that this sect is extinct, others are of the view that its not. I share the latter view. The influences of this sect have always been present, in different guises and in varying degrees, throughout the history of Islam. But it appears to have gained a renewed momentum with the emergence of Muhammad … Continue reading The Kharijites and their impact on Contemporary Islam

Logic before silly fatwa?

Listening to your logic to shun fanatical fatwas Badria al-Bishr When cars were first introduced to Saudi Arabia as modernization began with King Abulaziz, people narrated a story that a man placed fodder in front of a car because he thought it was a camel or a ewe in need of food. The car was understood as such. This simple thinking is fitting with the isolation which people lived in during that time and thus the incapability to understand new technologies. This isolation caused an increase in physical objects and concepts being prohibited. New ideas were dealt with in a … Continue reading Logic before silly fatwa?