Rise of victimhood culture is the cause of setbacks.

In a recent volume compiled by The Tony Blair Faith Foundation on ‘How to prevent extremism and policy options,’ http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/foundation/news/how-prevent-extremism-and-policy-options the analysis provided by decision-makers conclusively suggests constructive measures which have been established after thorough investigation and by collecting  valid data.

Certain unanimity exists on how to combat the menace of extremism. We all agree that the government needs to get involved; extremism has to be eradicated by engaging moderates, under-represented, marginalized sections of societies; the focus should be to remove glamourized perceptions about jihad and Islam’s medieval past and every support should be offered to promote critical thinking in education.  

Judging from the point of view to combat extremism Cameron’s announcement to work towards that aim should be welcomed. However whether the recent move to downgrade schools where Muslim women are allowed to wear veils and to allow authorities to monitor students to detect signs of radicalization in the educational institutes is the outcome of what government aims to achieve will be assessed on the basis of how successfully they will be in implementing these measures. Similar such suggestions have suffered setbacks after backlash occurred from organizations and charities monitoring evidence of Islamophobia—it is obvious the condemnation of acts which are considered targeting and alienating individuals get the most instant response from public outcry.

The backlash from elements keen to spread the idea that Islamophobia is on the rise are not helping the Muslim community because of the failure to address the underlying complicated issues. The ones who are promoting their Islamist ideas take a confrontational stand against those who are highlighting the rise of Islamism. Tommy Robinson is regularly attacked by political leaders, Islamists and journalists for his criticism against Islam, whereas his firsthand experience of witnessing the infiltration of Islamic extremism is a story in its own right and has convinced many who want to confront extremism.

This clash between the pro-Islamists and anti-extremists is already perpetuating a sense of vulnerability among those who have nothing to do with it. Unfortunately the ones who should be resuscitating the Muslim community have taken the cause to defend Islam so close to their hearts that they have literally forsaken the responsibility of supporting individualism. There are Muslims out there who have nothing to do with Islamism and are eager to live along and be concerned with every day lives. But the issues rising from perception portraying Islam as an ideology will demand that Muslims robustly and convincingly demonstrate that diversity, religious and cultural differences are respected and not just tolerated.

The remarks made by Trevor Philips were meant to highlight that for Muslims the religious outlook is important and this will come in the way of integration. The victim card has been used for so long that fear and suspicion will continue to reign in the minds of those who don’t want to be associated with Islamism.

The demographic time bomb ticking—women are not having kids.

Japan has worked it out—women don’t want to salvage their careers for the sake of having a family life. An article published in Business Insider http://www.techinsider.io/how-japan-can-solve-its-sex-problem-2016-1 sighted the country is facing a baby crisis—not many women are having children which is resulting in dangerously low birth rate. By one highly-cited estimation, a full 896 of Japan's towns and villages — or about half the total — are in danger of becoming extinct by 2040, and a disturbing "countdown clock" made by a team of economists is ticking off the seconds until the last Japanese person is born. This type of scenario is a crisis for any country. The irony is if you don't support women working, you end up not having enough kids to support the economy.  Increasingly women are coming under pressure.

Lifestyle choices now mean putting on halt having children or altogether sacrificing the possibility of juggling career and family life. There is too much at risk—long absences from work are not going to take you up the career ladder. Employers and bosses already crippled by the cuts and withdrawal of government support are not going to hire those demanding job security as it is becoming too costly to efficiently manage employees wanting to be given extra benefits.

On the social side of it, you will probably sacrifice plenty for showing preference to get in the comfort zone and minimize the ‘I-come-first,’ bit which gave you the freedom to believe ‘friends matter,’ ‘money can buy happiness,’ or simply be the person ready to do great stuff which distinguish you as ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘savior of humanity,’ ‘kick-ass feminist.’ Freedom allows you to indulge in ideas you are out there to do great service to humanity and the world can do less with superciliously smug feminist power dubbed as ‘yummy mummy,’ ‘millennium mum.’ The wishy-washy world of reality shows like ‘Ladies of London’ and ‘The Real Housewives of New York,’ is just another soap-opera genre that makes us cringe at the worthlessness of mum-power. 

Every woman with children will not fit into the mould of bored housewives with billionaire husbands eager to bankroll money so that they can splash out on expensive clothes, implants and hiring nannies. Most of us are struggling, coping and dealing with day-to-day stresses of how to get it right. We want the best for our children but it is race against time, resources and modern stress to multi-task in order to reach the end goal of successfully rearing and upbringing the future generation.

Dare I question who is out there ready to take up the cause of women eager to give up their ‘I-come-first,’ priorities to stay at home for school runs, make dinner for families, spend their evenings coping with homework. The government, the feminist groups and the media have peddled the savvy, feisty and ultra-modern image of feminism to the point where it is no longer required to give airtime to anyone trying to make a cause for motherhood.

Next time you see the demographics of Islam’s population representing that little peak on the graph to show that the Muslims are multiplying in numbers, try to decipher the real causes of the time-bomb ticking off in the background. Any economic growth and sustainability in the long run will depend on self-reinvention of feminism and where it will be okay to step-off the career ladder to raise children and not get trapped in a guilt-trip.  

Cologne Sex Attack: Let us dig deeper

There is no alternative to the freedom and security West offers to women; however a wave of misogyny is threatening this culture.

Fingers are pointing to suggest that the perpetuated reason behind the rape cases in Cologne is misogyny. If the evidence leads to the suggestion that the men behind the rapes, robbery and assaults on New Year Eve were of North Africa and Arab appearance, then let us get to the root cause of why it took place.

Many suggest that the religion of the perpetrator should not be questioned. Rape is a horrific crime and can take place anywhere. But the overwhelming evidence leaves you uncomfortable especially when here in UK reports suggest that Rotheram grooming gangs was not one off incident and there are gangs out there within the community who are exploiting young white girls. Political correctness and the fear of being labelled Islamophobia hinders the idea to be fearlessly blunt about the real reasons which have allowed these monstrosities to occur.

I should have thought that Islam and Mohammad’s legacy is far superior in understanding how to treat women with respect and equality. The Islamic culture lays down the significance of Purdah, Hijab and the importance of segregation to safeguard women. And yet we are seeing men from Muslim backgrounds involved in degrading womanhood.

Far too long Muslims have gone on to believe that women are subordinate to men. A culture that seeks to impose restrictions on women is less likely to defend their rights of freedom, their choices and their independence.   

Clash between Sunni and Shiite now political

Because Islam is a global religion and America has significant strategic interests in the region, the escalating tensions between the two countries are going to have global repercussions. Where once the clash between Sunni and Shiite was religions, now it is more political.

In lots of hotbed places the conflict is between Sunni and Shiite majorities.

In Iraq, the Shiite-dominated army has been seen as a strong-arm of former Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and an oppressive force by majority Sunnis in the north. That’s why many were happy to have the Sunni-dominated Islamic State group make gains across the north. And as the Islamic State group grows in strength and numbers — experts say would-be jihadis have flocked to its forces in northern Syria since the declaration of the caliphate — the Sunni-Shiite conflict will intensify and spread.

Syria is a majority-Sunni country, but the regime of President Bashar Assad is a close ally of Shiite-dominated Iran.

The declaration by the Islamic State group, known as ISIS stated that it was establishing a “new caliphate” through its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Islamic State is a Sunni group and its stated goals are to create a territory run by a caliph and Shariah, or Islamic law. In a video announcing the caliphate last June, the group described al-Baghdadi as “descendant from the family of the Prophet, the slave of God” — perhaps an attempt to legitimate him in the eyes of Shiites. If they — or any other Muslims — fail to recognize the new caliphate, they will be considered apostates and can be killed under Shariah.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is much more challenged on the economic front, more isolated regionally and globally, and beset with succession issues, given the King's controversial decision to empower the 30-year old son Mohammed bin Salman. They hate the international attention on them given the growing ISIS concerns and want to make regional tensions an Iran story, which helps them domestically. All of which leads toward escalation.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a news conference, ‘We are determined not to let Iran mobilize or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of our allies. We will push back against Iran's attempts to do so.’ On Monday, Saudi Arabia moved to cut off all commercial ties with Iran and bar its citizens from travelling there.

Dawkins criticism of winged horses makes sense

Richard Dawkins is not far from being the cause of controversies labelling him an ‘Islamophobe.’ Recently he stormed out of an interview when a Muslim journalist confirmed he personally believed that the Prophet flew to heaven on a winged horse. In response Dawkins told the New Statesman journalist Emad Ahmad that his ‘belief’ was pathetic before angrily storming off.

While Ahmad went on to explain his shock at the reaction of the scientist to the media, Dawkins took to Twitter to defend his actions. Though much of what happened occurred due to PR mismanagement, Dawkins made it known that his comments about the belief on Mohammad were meant to deflate the concept that there is any logic into believing he travelled on a winged horse to heaven.

For the critics of Dawkins, the whole incident is evidence of his condemnation for everything that Islam stands for. The belief in the winged horse story is central to the Islamic tenets upholding Mohammad’s legitimate status as a Prophet of God. The widespread plausible argument can be gathered from the opinions of Al-Jazeera’s journalist Mehdi Hasan who interviewed Dawkins at the Oxford Union in 2012 and expressed his absolute belief in winged horses.

The interview which can be watched on Youtube is good piece of evidence how religion can down play logic. While Dawkins made an effort to be mild and polite in reasoning against the fallacy of religious supremacy, his argument was pitted against well-researched, data ridden, factually sound reasoning by Mahdi Hasan who made a case to convince that religion is essentially good and makes no appeal to people wanting to commit acts of extremism.

Who can argue against the charitable Mother Teresa and believe that the Communist regimes who did away with religion were trying to uplift humanity! It is easy to defend religion and agree it does well for mankind in the face of the obvious evidence that atheist scholars and scientists who never go along with what the masses say are always outnumbered against God-fearing people. For that matter Muslims know about Ibn Hanbal, Imam Shafi, Al-Ghazali and of their endeavours to establish the primacy of orthodox belief that the revealed truth should be accepted without questioning.

Against such illustrious men the teachings of the 8^th century Mutazilite school of theology, established in Baghdad, is almost certainly lost. The greatest contribution of the men who formed this school of thought included their reasoning that revelations are limited by time and Quranic injunctions can be modified according to the changing circumstances. Their belief in rational freedom and Quran as created word gained acknowledgement during the middle of the ninth century. But as the authority of the Ulema became absolute in establishing that man cannot attain knowledge of God through reason and so he must follow revelation unquestionably, then reason became subordinate to revelation. Rationalism in religion for which the Mutazillites stood culminated after conformism of the orthodox theologians and the Sunni Ulemas triumphed. Persecution and rigid conservatism of voices disliking reasoning and research silenced liberal tolerance of the Mutazillites and to this day no fresh thought or movement have managed to free the Muslims from intellectual decline.

The defence for Islamic teachings is now an apologetic defence or justification with no originality to appeal intellect and mind that can unhinge the Muslims from rigid conservatism.

Hopefully in this day and age, when man has superseded all barriers against logic and reasoning, the blind belief in winged horses will not triumph.

“Khadija is my role model."

Throughout the Muslim world commemorating the death of Khaddija bint Khwalid is a day of reflection marked by recalling her greatness. She was the first wife of Mohammad, the first woman to convert to Islam and regarded by Muslims as ‘the mother of the believers i.e. Muslims.’

In the annals of history it is recorded that she was a wealthy woman who also belonged to the respected tribe of Quraysh. Khadija had been previously married three times and had older children when she met Muhammad, whom she hired to travel to Syria with one of her trade caravans, when he was twenty-five.  Upon returning her servant gave accounts of the honourable way that Muhammad had conducted his business and brought back twice as much profit than expected. Khadija entrusted a friend to approach Muhammad and ask if he would consider marrying. At first he was hesitant because he had no money to support a wife. The friend then asked if he would consider marriage to a woman who had the means to provide for herself. Muhammad agreed to meet with Khadija. After this meeting the marriage took place.

No doubt Khadija was a woman of remarkable intelligence. Her mature understanding of worldly affairs made her astute and wise. She saw in Muhammad a man willing to aid and abet anyone who gave the opportunity to prove himself worthy of accomplishing honest dealings and transactions in trade and commerce. We learn that her maturity was equalled by her consideration because of the support she offered to Muhammad’s prophetic mission. Khadija’s generosity left a lasting impression on Muhammad who grieved for a long time after her death. Because of the affection he maintained for Khadija, his wife Ayesha remained jealous of her.

Much that can be praised about Khadija, however it fails to make sense that so many young Muslim girls prefer her to be a role model. Khadija’s rare qualities made her a perfect companion for a man who was destined to become a prophet. She narrated dreams which led to the interpretations that she was to marry a prophet which tells us that she was bestowed with a strong spiritual awareness as well. Some of us are born naturally gifted and talented; however a gifted person’s rare attributes hardly assist others to better themselves.

It is narrated that Muhammad said there are four foremost ladies of the universe, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, his daughter Fatimah bint Muhammad, Maryam bint Imran, the mother of Prophet Issa and Asia bin Muzahim (the wife of the Pharoah.) Despite my best efforts I can never succeed to be like any of these women because I don’t possess their attributes, skills or place and position in society. However I can try my best to live by accomplishing some good in the face of adversities like Helen Keller, I can hope to learn from the legacy of Marie Curie whose discoveries benefits all of us, I can try and overcome my fears of altitudes and severe weather conditions like Junko Tabei and aim to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Blind veneration of Khadija, Ayesha and Fatima strikes to be an attitude which only highlights Muhammad’s status in Islam. Surely young Muslim girls can do better than worship for the sake of upholding Islam’s status.    

"You sound like an atheist."

Recently I have been receiving direct messages on twitter from some followers in regard to my rant on Islam. These ‘meant-well’ messages are directed at concerns that certain twitter accounts are being offensive about the content of my tweets. Some have also probed to question my religious standing and have gone on to believe that my recent tweets suggest I am now an atheist.

IT seems my ‘meant-well’ followers were compelled to direct their concern towards my religious standing because of the distraction I have caused through my tweets. I have outspokenly criticised Islam’s concept validating modesty and morality of women, challenged perceptions that Islam is compatible with British values and remained highly critical of the ideals to uphold the sanctity of Quran. All this has caused confusion on twitter. One follower sort of celebrated the thought that I have finally turned into an atheist and made an offer which sounded like ‘once in a lifetime chance’ of a relationship behind the marriage scene. Though it is fair assumption to make any sort of judgement from reading the tweets, I will have to explain my point of view, because the content of tweets is causing few of you to ask questions about my religious belief. But please bear in mind, this kind of explanation is something I choose not to do, simply because it is very difficult to explain religious standing without sounding presumptuous and I would refrain from becoming another Mehdi Hasan who once pointed out that I possessed very shoddy knowledge of Kerbala and hence rubbished me off for sounding too irrational on the topic of Islam.

Those who know me are not going to judge my approach to be overly religious in day-to-day matters. For as long as I remember I have always rebelled against the notion that secular values make you an immoral person. I grew up in a family where art was appreciated and admired and this never conflicted with the view that life is amoral if you draw human images. Any opinion resting on the notion that there is perversion in admiring women like Venus and Mona Lisa got me into fights in school. I still continue to view Islam as an elusive and intangible influence-----like a vague shadow in the background. My life is too busy, chaotic and demanding and I have little time to spare to dissect the reasons why Muhammad made it compulsory to live in an interest-free society or worry about the doomed after-death existence for not praying five times a day. I have lived under the shadow of Islam but I have also questioned, criticized and sometimes outwardly rebelled against Islamic ideas. But where I lack the will to emulate the Sunnah I also have no enthusiasm to formerly declare myself an atheist; simply because getting lost in a debate on faith and inner conviction is a distraction from serious issues.

The ones who believe Quran to be the final word of God are keen to promote the viewpoint that the teachings of Islam provide complete guidance in forming a society where everyone is given equal rights. But the voices disagreeing are putting up a fight. Although it is a credit that some on twitter compare me with Ayaan Hirsi Ali and  Tarek Fateh I am not as brave and courageous as them. These individuals have decided to no longer defend Islam and Sharia and they are challenging Islam and the Muslims who do not stand by free-speech and freedom of expression. It is hard, unforgivable and never-ending battle to oppose Islam, as I found out ever since I escalated my own criticism of Islam. I have been called an apostate and a non-believer, which I can live with because I have seen what criticism of Islam leads to after judging the barometer of hate Maajid Nawaz receive on twitter. However it rankle me that some devout Muslims claim I sound like a Jew or a Hindu, as if it is very heinously offensive matter to be a follower of either of these faiths.

Why does the level of tolerance slips away when Islam is challenged? Maybe because for too long Muslims have learned to tolerate the religious zealots who claim that sound judgement is a matter of absolute submission before Quran and Sunnah and anyone who disagrees can't be a Muslim. For me it is no longer a matter of choice to agree with principles and practices which are archaic, unjust and not sound in safeguarding freedom and human dignity. I will continue to criticize, condemn and highlight the issues within Islam because Sharia is no longer an answer to a better tomorrow for all those individuals who believe in living together without creating divisions resting on religion.

IS it right to allow young girls to wear Hijab

Prophet Muhammed was a saviour of humanity who uplifted the status of women. Those who believe unequivocally in the compassion of Mohammad and his fair-mindedness will remind you he put an end to the Arab custom of burying female infants alive and made it known that whosoever has two daughters and struggles for their upbringing will be positioned to stand close to him on the day of judgement. How comforting to know that Muhammed gave a lasting legacy to Muslims on how they should treat young girls!

In a recent wedding I attended in Manchester, I saw a father sitting with four young daughters between the ages of four and ten and all wearing hijabs. Frequently I get to see facebook messages where little girls appear covered in hijabs and invariably a haadith is quoted as to the virtue of teaching about Islam to young minds. Sometimes the person who post the message ask you to share it to receive as many likes as possible. The message of these posts is clear: young minds are to be nurtured through religion and little girls must be taught that hijab gives her protection from the male gaze. In order to make it known why hijab is a necessity it has to be explained why segregation is allowed in Islam. Surely the content of the topic cannot be legitimized without touching on the topics which relate to sexual education.

By introducing concept of hijab on girls as young as six years are you not robbing them of their innocence? If hijab is to give protection to girls, then how come the rapes cases among young girls are not rarity in Muslim countries? In Britain and elsewhere in Europe the justification that Islam is essential for the freedom of Muslims is gaining strength. By turning the angle of the argument in favour of controlling girls and women, Islam will remain dominant. And my recent tweet highlighting the debate that young school girls under the age of ten should not be allowed to wear hijab proved so. The abuse I received was shocking not for its vile content but the obvious blind faith in believing hijab protects little girls. 

Let little girls explore, discover and enjoy the freedom of playing and doing whatever young boys do. Religion is restricting their freedom. Allow little boys and little girls to nourish their minds by forming friendships, playing in groups and sharing thoughts and ideas.

Hopefully parents, the media, community and social workers agree they have a duty to protect the freedom of young Muslim girls in Britain from the restrictions religion impose upon them. 

What is wrong with Eric Pickles’ letter!

The language of Eric Pickle’s letter is predictable and stating the obvious: ‘But there is more work to do,’ ‘show them these men of hate have no place in our mosques or any place of worship,’ ‘We know act of extremism are not representative of Islam.’ Too often these phrases are repeated when statesmen, commentators and writers fail to understand why Islamism exists.

But the letter pricks and creates a sense of snub. Many including Baroness Warsi is angered that the Muslim Council of Britain and other well-known groups representing British Muslims are not invited to have meetings with the Prime Minister. They feel slighted and angered because despite installing security cameras inside the mosques and committee members having to routinely meet the local police, Eric Pickles is acting like a man kicking up a storm in self-defence against his own shortcoming to understand that the victims of Islamphobia cant be asked to do more to counter extremism. And out of his own admittance he acknowledges that the Muslims came out in support of Charlie Hebdo cartoons around Britain.

Before we surrender to the drone of condemnation it is crucial to note that Eric Pickles wants the mosques to promote ‘British Islam,’ which is no different from ‘British values.’ My efforts to Google the word ‘British Islam’ fail to produce any definition, so Pickles must be accredited for inventing it. For the faint-hearted Ummah loving Muslims the coinage of the phrase would be seen as another attempt to contaminate the pure soul of Islam, for the much robust and Sharia-loving die-hard fanatics boiling with rage about the injustice of having to live amidst the critics of Quran and Mohammad and lamenting that Islam is given a cult-like status which supports violence, it is viewed as an attempt to harass them. But if ‘British Islam’ is anything close to resembling ‘British values’ then secularism has been broadly applied to convince Muslims that they must reform their traditional beliefs in order to be seen as not opposing secular values.

The oft-repeated garble that ‘Islam is a religion that cannot be forced against the will’ is not going to work in defence of Muslims when analysing the data on Forced Marriages by Home Office where it is reported that 42 percent of forced marriages cases involve Pakistani girls and in cases from 60 different countries majority are from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Morocco. In a secular country the right to chose to marry or refuse to marry someone is denied to many Muslim girls.

If a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate receives death threats after posting a cartoon image then the compromise with religious beliefs and freedom of speech is becoming a lethal weapon to suit the purpose of extremists. It was not a cleric from a far away Muslim land who charged Maajid Nawaz with blasphemy, a British Muslim commentator Mo Ansar, who is at ease debating Islam on social media with views that are objectionable on amputation, gays and women’s rights encouraged this kind of lunatic stance on images of prophet. The incidence brings to the table discussion whether Muslims are able to strike a balance to convince that religion is not going to permeate in the fabric of British society and challenge the freedom of expression.

Reinterpretation of Islam to suit the purpose has to end.    

Mohammad for Mankind – what about Muslim war with the Jews

For many Muslims the well-known facts about Mohammad pertain to his status as the saviour of humanity; his impeccable behaviour quintessentially remains unquestionable. Such praise absolves any need for character analysis and we are expected to believe in the perfection of Mohammad in every aspect.

One of the qualities of Mohammad, which makes him an example to follow, is his mercy----displayed by acts of forgiveness towards his enemies and the haters of Islam. But the simple truth of the matter is that when Mohammad arrived in Madina in AD 622, a sizable Jewish community thrived there and when he died in AD 632 very few Jews remained due to expulsion, death and enslavement. Many Muslims will argue that Mohammad’s state of perfection allowed him to punish the Jews who broke treaties and schemed with the tribes opposed to him----even tried to kill him. But the essence of forgiveness was not granted to the Jews and the hostility against them is promoted and supported in every Muslim country to this day.

The glossed over facts about the reasons for hatred towards the Jews are defended by many Muslim theologians only because they vilified the Prophet in Madina and denied the truth about his prophethood as mentioned in Quran. Some even argue that the enslavement, punishment and retaliations against the Jews were simply acts of following Arab custom, which allowed enslavement or death in dealing with the enemies. However, granted that everyone is part and parcel of his or her own culture, why a prophet imbued with divine inspiration from Allah did not rise above these violent tribal customs.

Mohammad was a man besieged by challenges of his time. He made decisions which went against some people and pleased others. The reasons behind those decisions are open to speculations, analysis and debate. Because the enmity against the Jews is very ancient and since most Muslims believe in following Mohammad literally it is crucial to know the facts behind the hostility.

Below is an analysis of the events leading to the old hostility between the Muslims and the Jews:

The earliest Islam was an improvement on the prior faith, Judaism.

At the time Mohammad entered Madina, three major Jewish clans lived there: Qaynuqa, Nadir and Qurayz. Mohammad worked on an agreement with them that all the Jews were not to support an enemy against him and ‘they were to be neither for him nor against him,’ in other words be neutral. In April 624, Muhammad expelled the clan Qaynuqa. One day a Muslim woman was conducting business in a Jewish market, and some Jews fastened her skirt to a nail. When she stood up, she was exposed. A Muslim happened to be present and witnessed the practical joke and the ridicule, killed one of the pranksters, who avenged their friend’s death in turn. The prank is found in Islamic sources which was the reason behind the expulsion of Qaynuqa clan. However it is arguable that this prank has no more than anecdotal value. But this incident is reason enough to inspire bin Laden to bear a grudge against the Jews. Many historians believe that Jews had assumed a contentious attitude towards Muhammad and that might have led to their expulsion. Was Mohammad’s response to the conflict proportional? To many it seems not because Qaynuqa never waged war on Mohammad. It comes not as a surprise that millions of Muslims hate the Jews and if Mohammad is perceived as their guide many believe that the enmity will not be wiped out.

When Mohammad expelled the Nadir clan the revelation in the Quran which permits Muhammad to cut down the date palms owned by the Jews is complicated to understand, because law and custom forbade this practice in war or at any time, but Allah gave the prophet special permission to break this rule. Mohammad expelled the entire tribe because they supposedly tried to kill him. Many see this response not propionate and think that it leads to the perceived aggression of radical followers.

In March 627, after the Battle of Trench, Mohammad imposed the ultimate penalty on the men of Jewish clan of Qurayza. The sentence was death by decapitation for around 600 men and enslavement for the women and children. Muslim defence of the carrying out of this sentence is that the Jews broke their agreement to remain neutral in the battle. However it is argued that Mohammad could have executed only a few leaders or the few guilty ones. He did not have to wipe the entire Jewish tribe by execution and enslavement.

During the caliphate of Umar the Jews were expelled from the Arabian peninsula. Umar citing the prophet’s words spoken on his deathbed: ‘Two religions shall not remain together in the peninsula of the Arabs,’ and considered it reason enough to justify his actions. This incident show that irrational excess seeped into Islam in the very beginning.

The Hadith passages saying that in the Last Day a tree or a stone will cry out that a Jew is hiding behind it, so Muslims must come and kill him, leads to the assumption for many Muslims that a Jew is behind every bad event, including 9/11. Plain reading of the Quran inspires many fanatic preachers

It is crucial for Muslims to ask, if Mohammad’s life and policies serve as role model of peace and divine love, why the hostilities towards the Jews continue to exist after fourteen hundred years? Can traditional and conservative Muslims reform, when they prefer to follow literally Quran and Haadith?

We are better because we are Muslims!

How do you respond to a criticism that questions your own values? The most likely response would be to answer in a sensible manner that would lead to some conclusions. But if the preferred response is to be defensive it can only create a state of confrontation which will further leave the naysayer adrift. A month ago I had a conversation with a lady whose own perception of how the Asian Muslims in Birmingham have learned to adapt with the British way of life far exceeds my insight. But it was her response to the ongoing issues linked to Islamism which spelled out the underlying problem. Boldly she summed it up in a single sentence how one is to tackle the criticism that Muslims are not doing enough to integrate, ‘They can’t stop us—they are scared of us.’ The word ‘they’ refers to the media, the police, the government and politicians, anyone who believes that apologetic pacifism is not the way to tackle Islamism.

Racism is now commonly confused with Islamism. If the argument highlights that the Muslim community needs to tackle the issue of faith because significance of upholding Islamism precedes the essential values of human rights, freedom of speech and gender equality then it is ‘us verses them,’ situation which either needs to be ignored or demands a defensive stance. The first generation of immigrants who arrived from Pakistan have experiences to narrate about how life was difficult in those days. It was matter of earning to save enough money and probably one day return home. Ties with the native homeland, and clan were maintained and strengthened to make the children realize that their ethnic background is an important factor of identity. Islamic teachings maintaining strong family bonds and upholding conservative traditional values leading to segregation and subservient attitude of women were useful in instilling to the children their cultural identity.

I disagree with the Fox News guest’s statement that Birmingham’s multi-cultural vibrancy has made the city a no-go area for non-Muslims. The city is vibrant and welcoming. But where diversity is good it is also going to bring new challenges. Overly-populated Muslim neighbourhoods are going to come across issues because by and large Islam has been adopted as a way of life. Made to believe by their parents that somehow Islam is going to give them sense of belonging and protection, the children of the first generation immigrants are now defensively pursuing to adopt way of life which upholds Islamic character. I will be told this perception is flawed because many second generation Muslims are educated, pursuing careers, have plans to settle down as good and decent citizens. While it can’t be agreed that all Muslims are pursuing the Jihadist dream to live under the green banner of Islam in Europe, there is something essentially not right if every criticism is countered with the rallying cry of racism. While British Muslims prosper economically and benefit from the freedom to profess Islam as a religion, the disregard to understand the threat of Islamism which also undermines the British values is twisted and gross misrepresentation of being enlightened. If it is war front to fight any insult against Islam but at the same time preached that in Europe one is surrounded by Kufr-yielding Europeans who know nothing of Islam then it is only leading to self-destruction.

Time to stop saying ‘We are better because we are Muslims.’  

Is Islam political-religious threat!

One of my uncles had a rare gift of spinning stories out of hypothesis, controversies and predictions. His purpose was to acquaint others with world affairs and history in a light manner. Islam was always a favourite topic and whether it was politics, conspiracies or Islamism he tried to reason out the complications as best as he could do it. Once in a matter-of-fact way he mentioned to me the comments Francis Mitterand made in reference to Muslims, where he stated that the rising tide of Islam in Europe can lead to a situation making it possible for a Muslim to be elected as the French president.

Thirty years ago this seemed a strange prediction. Far from being interested in politics that could lead to crisis between Islam and West I did not take these comments seriously. But nowadays it is not easy to overlook that identification with Islam is creating conflicts. We hear of Sharia patrols in UK, anti-Islam protest march in Germany, riots in Europe, blasphemy charges raised against those who draw cartoons and drawings becoming a frequent occurrence. It is usually dismissed that these incidences are engineered by those who want to stir trouble, brand Islam as intolerant and not compatible with the times.  

Whether my uncle said these comments in response to the argument that Islam is a violent religion spread by the use of sword in medieval times I am not sure. He died soon after 9/11 and never got the chance to see the turn of tide where the blind conviction in Quran and Haadith as the perfect embodiment of law, led to the birth of Islamic State ISIS who believe in modern-day slavery, beheading and amputations. Islam is seen as a force which has foes and believers alike. Whether as an outcome of economic meltdown, lack of trust in politicians or suffering from affluenza (‘a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more’), all over the world the young people are turning to religion. Islam as a role model is growing, for it offers the closest example to ‘living religion’ whose adherents really believe in God and his Law. The influence of Islam is everywhere.

Hijab-clad woman greets me at the chemist, I read the word ‘halal’ emblazoned on the sign boards of many restaurants across Birmingham, I walk pass prayer-rooms in airports and hospitals and I get to listen to Adhan ‘call for prayers’ on radio.

However I fail to adhere to becoming a follower without understanding why those who believe in tolerance are ready to harass others for drawing images of the Prophet! Those who believe in Islam have a desire to see it dominate by the increase in numbers of converts. Though it is deemed that all are equal before God, yet it is constantly preached that Christians, Jews, Atheists, Hindus are less equals because they don’t follow Islam. In this day and age women are told that segregation is a way of giving them respect. Forced marriages, honour killings and violence to compel girls to cover their heads and faces is sometimes not even considered violation of basic rights for women.

 Much of the sovereignty of the European states is being transferred to the European Union: radical Muslims may wonder why they should come to terms with the national governments rather than the supranational authority in Brussels. Politics may accelerate Islamization. Muslim vote will be crucial in many elections across Europe; to win it may mean having to woo it, notably by allowing for further consolidation of Islam in society. Along these lines, one might also wonder whether Jacques Chirac’s pronouncements in late 1996 strongly favouring an independent Palestinian state and the lifting of the embargo against Iraq were not intended to garner the Muslim vote in France. One may also question why the British government never tried to intervene to stop genocide by Assad government in Syria.

Anyone who believes in the existence of specific political-religious threat will probably think of Islam first. The current debate about immigration is much more than only about ethnicity and language----it is about religion too. We must consider whether the rise of Islam means number of mosques should double, halal food distribution must boost, polygamy is to be tolerated and the Sharia police to be allowed to operate in Muslim neighbourhoods. Or Islam ought to adapt to the British values, with its emphasis on individual freedom and secularism, rather than the reverse.  

Let us not challenge - Trojan Horse schools were doing their best!

Many times if opinions and comments are left unchallenged they are perceived to be accepted as genuine outcomes of issues. A month ago I met a lady who works as a teacher in one of the local primary school not far from the Park View School in Birmingham. She firmly believes it was unjustifiable to label the schools inadequate which were investigated after the letter with details of plans seeking to introduce Islamist was leaked. Her opinion rests on the presumption that some of the schools helped under-achievers gain the required higher grades necessary and this outcome in due time would have helped in raising the standard of the school too. She sympathized with the teachers who came under scrutiny after the OFSTED carried out inspection and also felt it was grave injustice to widen the investigations as some were labelled wrongly to be part of this plot.

Due to the seriousness of the outcomes, rightly or wrongly the nature of the investigations and media scrutiny were overwhelmingly extensive and broad based. Those who already believe that racism occurs from deliberate targeting of alien beliefs in society, view this negatively. And many commentators were quick to point out on twitter and in newspapers that schools introducing Islamic ethos are no different from other faith schools where Catholicism and Jewish faith are introduced to children in order to enhance their religious knowledge. Similarly many have argued that there is nothing wrong with segregation which was encouraged in the Trojan Horse schools because old independent schools like Eaton and Harrow have been practising it over much longer period of time and producing overall best results academically and nurturing students of high calibre.

For a gullible person these reasons will seem arguably justifiable enough to believe there was some deliberate attempt to derail the schools encouraging Islamic ethos. But let us examine the opinion that Trojan Horse schools are no different from other independent schools where girls and boys are taught separately. My ten year old daughter out of her own admission wants to go to a ‘girls only’ school, because she believes boys are aggressively competitive which makes it harder for girls to outshine. This view cannot be a deliberate enforcement of religious dogma. If many of the independent schools in Britain are Christian faith schools too, the evidence of discrimination towards pupils of other faiths is hardly there. Ethos of religious education taught in these schools does not give rise to mindset which is extremist, dogmatic and narrow-minded. Islamic education system taught in schools world over have yet to match parallels with British education system where direct religious teachings are not conflicting with principles of independent thinking and progressive outlook.

If Islamic education is based on the teachings of Quran and Haadith, how is it possible to separate the concept that non-Muslims are inferior in status and virtuosity is superior to intelligence!

The Islamic state within a state—can it happen!

If one was to ask ‘what makes headlines for New Zealand?’ The obvious answer would be world class cricket team and the rugby players who mesmerize the crowds with their haka dance at the beginning of every match. But Te Amorangi Kireka-Whaanga has other ideas to boost the image of the egalitarian country well-known for its wealth of natural and scenic landscapes. The young man who heads the Aotearoa Maori Muslim Association mentioned in a recent Facebook post that he has changed the organisation’s name to the Islamic State of Aotearoa.

Considering the violent reputation of the Islamic State in Middle East, one would imagine refraining from being considered as an ideologue of what the state proposes as common sense. But Kireka-Whaanga remains sympathetic towards the ISIS which conducts massacres and beheading of hostages. ‘IF you practice your religion then of course you’ll be 100 per cent behind Islamic State,’ he said while also claiming that he was not a violent person. His bizarrely warped claims include maintaining a desire to be ‘a peace advocate trying to achieve my goal of winning a Nobel peace prize.’

Mr Kireka-Whaanga is one more ‘lone wolf’ eager to Islamicize the community and society because somehow the principal of Western society are falling short of providing justice and peace to the world. This perception eagerly grasps the young men and women who are led to believe by the jihad-seeking religious teachers and community leaders that assimilation and integration is threatening the cohesion of Islamic values. The propagation to adopt religious principles which are largely alien to European values is now giving rise to ideas of new nations with hopes to supersede Christian nations. Across Germany, France and England the population of conservative Muslims are encouraging ethnic/religious separatism which in other terms means benefiting from immigrating without having to assimilate into society. The rise of unemployment and violence cannot be overlooked. Some level of violence has the advantage of ensuring separation from the outside world and can be used as a bargaining tool with the authorities to get more de facto autonomy—meaning that Muslim enclaves are ruled only by Muslims according to Islamic law—as well as to obtain more funding. This kind of attitude  also serves  as a social control tool against liberal-minded Muslim individuals, for conservative Muslim leaders can easier exert pressure on liberal-minded Muslims—for instance to compel females to don the veil.

Most incentives seeking government control over Muslims through establishment of organizations fail because orthodox Muslims see autonomy of religion as in direct opposition of what Sharia law states. The separation between the state and the religion overwhelmingly accepted by the European countries has not been accepted by the supporters of the Sharia law, who argue that religion is intrinsically interwoven with the affairs of the state.

In UK the growing concern and dismay about the rise of Islam is now brushed aside as racism and the sense of victim hood decapitate the purpose to examine the underlying intrinsic issues. Nevertheless it will become necessary to enforce the law of the state in a wise and gentle way to avoid a state within a state scenario.

Junaid Jamshaid – when misogyny is preached

If music is celebrated as having a soul, giving wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and charm and gayety to life, it is also irredeemably disapproved as fitna by many Muslims who believe that its promulgation misleads from Allah’s path. The profession of music and creating songs is perceived as a destroyer of morals and according to the Islamic scholar Imaam Shaafi the one who creates music ‘is an incompetent fool whose testimony is to be rejected.’ Such strong opposition is always a matter of debate and the ones who are adherent to follow Islam in the original form in order to uphold injunction that no invention can be allowed in Islamic laws, will always challenge perception that creativity, music and art are expression of humanity.

In the early nineties no one knew how best to view the emergence of a boy band, one of its kind in Pakistan. Five young men came on the television with version of pop songs in Urdu which instantly revived the interest in listening to local music. In a country where art and culture is always sliced, chopped and discarded away as irrelevant to national interests, the opposition against the group Vital Signs was huge. It was distraction, waste of time and very risky to promote the band which has learned nothing from the traditions of classical Urdu singing, that is a blend of classical instruments, poetry and highly rehearsed form of singing. But the group also gained wide acclaim from the youth and young people because of their popular lyrics, catchy tunes and persona of group members who were far better placed than the middle aged pop singers of the eighties.

Pinups, posters and teen magazines circulated in my college grounds, all containing images, gossip and news of the five group members known as, Junaid Jamshed, Rohail Hyatt, Shahzad Hasan and Nusrat Hussain. These guys became heartthrobs who mesmerized girls because of their talents and looks. Tickets to their concerts in those days cost a bombshell and as they were held in halls of five star hotels. With some deliberation the college council decided to approach the principal with the idea of arranging for Vital Signs to come and sing in the college hall. While the decision was being considered by the principal, the delay of the outcome worried us. There will be lots of people who would raise objections. Finally a day arrived when the whole college was summoned to the hall. The principal, a woman of steely frame of mind, in a stern and solemn voice explained to us the background of the rumours and reasons for the delay. A delegation of clerics along with the local imam met the principal and voiced their concerns for inviting over a boy band to perform in a college for girls. They issued a strong warning to the principal that she would be promoting sexual promiscuity among girls by inviting the band and everything she was doing was going against the teachings of Islam. In a milieu where opinions sway between common sense and illogic, the individuals who take right actions are the real gems. The principal decided to forgo all objections which were raised by the clerics and the concert was to go ahead as planned. We were made to promise that at no time during the concert we would get up from our seats, scream and shout in order to make the whole idea of having the concert in the college acceptable. The concert did take place. We got to see the group, heard their songs and enjoyed the scenario of being part of an entertainment where enjoyment matters.

Vital Signs went from strength to strength. Every album they produced was a bestseller. The quality of their songs matched by their music videos pioneered the interest in creating music for young people in Pakistan. But these days the lead singer Junaid Jamshed does not agree with these views! Junaid Jamshed now appears on the telly screens in religious talk shows expressing his regret that his interest in music led him to become a pop idol. He is keen to let the viewers know of the story of his transformation from pop idol to a religious redeemer. He is at ease to express his dislike for girls who screamed and shouted with excitement when he was a pop idol and he believes it is objectionable for women to drive altogether.

His religiosity tainted with misogynistic traits has rendered no services to his fellow countrymen and yet his fame has soared. By appealing to the sentiments of adopting austerity and humility as derived from the strict interpretation of Quran and Sunnah he has managed to remain in the limelight. The same kind of fame is not enjoyed, these days by other members of the Vital Sign group.

Junaid Jamshed appeals to those who are fettered in their sense of right and wrong and have taken to believe that matters can be resolved by the direct intervention of religion in daily matters. Even though the idea of bludgeoning opinions with the charge of blasphemy is abhorrent, I can’t help noticing that once again Junaid Jamshed’s misogynistic psyche is not questioned by his countrymen. Time and again he has considered women incapable of making sound decisions and judgements.

Age old views made fourteen hundred years ago in the land of Arabia are the bases for the rule of law for many in Muslim societies. And for as long as men like Junaid Jamshed are supported and admired for their ignorance in discriminating women, the suffering and injustice in the Muslim world will not end.

When wars don’t matter

 In my bookshelf rests an old file. The contents inside the file include typed papers, letters, some photocopies of articles taken from military digests and old newspapers cuttings. To sum in one sentence ‘the file contains story material of a soldier who fought in Malaya during World War II.’

Our desires to narrate occurrences and events, clear misunderstandings, mention some undisclosed facts lead us to write our experiences. The guiding principle for every writer is to be discovered by the stories he writes. My grandfather must have been led by the same purpose to have believed his experiences in Malaya as a soldier and then as a POW would make a good story to be shared with others. Life was full of upheavals and happenings and he never got a chance to write a book he intended to share with others.

He used to sit on his desk and write without ever lifting his head up if one was to come inside his study.  In those days you could hire a typist and he found one in the local bazaar—one who never managed to get the spellings of his name right. Afterwards bundles of typed papers he distributed to his daughters and sons for proofreading. Few days later they would return the papers and complained of their inability to make it read like a story and not a report. The papers never went to a printing press or desk of editor but rather they lay forgotten in a shelf along with his other numerous files—mostly records of the small gypsum factory he owned.

When you express the intention to become a writer it is amusing how the relatives are the first ones to remind you they saw the budding writer in you anyway. In one of my trips to Pakistan this file was thrust in my hands and on my return journey to England I sat in the plane recalling the hopes attached to my ability to write his story by the old comrades and officers who knew him. I have yet to decipher how I build a momentum to a story which starts in Singapore where he was sent soon after he left the military academy in Dehradun to the time he was planning to escape the Japanese prison camp on the day the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. There are too many angles to the story, lots of facts to be verified and many loose and unexplainable ends to be put together. I struggle to envision the fear in his mind when a Japanese soldier rested the gun on his temple and was about to pull the trigger if it had not been for another Japanese officer who was passing by and stopped the soldier from firing the shot—he wanted grandfather’s assistance to translate some maps written in English. I cannot fathom what inspired him to read the entire works of Shakespeare during his solitary confinement in the camp. Nor can I understand his emotions when he discovered, after leaving the prison camp that his father died a broken-hearted man. The Japanese severed all forms of communications for him and he could not write letters back home when he refused to do the Japanese drills. His father assuming he had been killed in action became ill and could not survive the emotional strain.

In all the human drama surrounded by the harsh world of war and strife there is one story which stands out for me. The English and Indian officers left to fend for their own lives came to form special bonds. Some kept in touch through writing letters long after the war was over. In 1971 the direct military confrontation between India and Pakistan led to a full fledge war. It was a year before my youngest uncle graduated from the Pakistan military academy. He became a POW during the war and was sent to a camp in India. With no forms of communications existent between the two countries the only source of information was the BBC radio for the families concerned about the welfare of soldiers and officers fighting far away from home. The news of a scuffle between Indian officers and Pakistani soldiers in a prison camp sent a wave of panic and apprehension. There was no way to ascertain who was alive and who was dead. The uncertainty worsened the frail health of my grandmother who had to be put on medication. My aunts and uncles recall the agony of seeing their mother every day becoming weak from the added concern of not knowing if her son was alive or dead. The scenario must have flooded memories of the war in Malaya because it was from the past grandfather dug out an old connection. Colonel Web an English officer who passed his retirement days in Essex was the company commander of his military unit in Malaya. A telegram was sent to him requesting his assistance in finding out about my uncle’s state. The wait was crucial but a telegram did arrive from England. Colonel Web sent a letter to General Jagjit Singh Aurora, another officer who was also stationed in Malaya during the war days and was serving as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army. He confirmed Colonel Web that my uncle was safe and well in a prison camp.

 Three soldiers from different backgrounds separated by circumstances of war and ideology did not uphold their differences when the matter was to build bridges for the sake of compassion and humanity. We need individuals like Jagjit Singh Aurora and Colonel Web who made it possible for us to believe our differences have no place to foster humanity.