The following article was published in the Passion Islam Magazine Spetember 2009 edition. It evaluated how muslims can be selective about what parts of the Quran they wish to practice, despite Islam forbidding this.
Read the Article ONLINE on pages 18-19. Read the full text of the article by Clicking HERE
Pubished on the Asian News Website-
By Majed Iqbal- A report released last week by think-tank the New Local Government Network (NLGN) has criticised the flagship £70 million Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) programme launched by the government two years back because it alienates Muslims.
Community groups across the North West and Yorkshire have refused to join a Government-funded scheme to prevent violent Islamic extremism because it “victimises” Muslims, it has been claimed.
The PVE programme was modeled to “promote shared values, support local solutions, build civic capacity and leadership and strengthen the role of faith institutions and leaders”.
The generic nature of the strategy was welcomed initially at the first look but rejected once the details became further apparent. The plans were considered divisive and an effort to divide the Muslim community on the lines of moderates and extremists by branding what ideas of Islam will be acceptable in Britain and what won’t. Read the rest of this entry »
On Sunday morning 19 July i participated in the BBC programme, The big Questions’. The show can be seen on the link HERE. my comments appear at 36.30 during the show.
Three areas were looked at- 1. Should the Government introduce marriage 2. Are Faith schools divisive and 3. Is there a North and south Divide. All three areas were topical and i had plenty of views that i would have liked to express in each area. Read the rest of this entry »
In the last months, there has been an active campaign to mobilise the Rochdale community against new Government plans to introduce compulsory sex education for 5 year old children.
The group “Rochdale Muslims against Sex and Relationship Education for 5 year olds” has played an active public role in highlighting these proposals and demonstrating exactly how the Muslim Community specifically and the wider community in general will be affected by this.
The group “Rochdale Muslims against Sex and Relationship Education for 5 year olds” now will be participating in the national consultation process on this issue.
We have gathered over 1000 petition signatures, and have led a Facebook campaign with at the time of writing, galvanised 388 Facebook group members on board, organised Weekly public stalls in busy areas in Rochdale, promoted the issue through a locally created YouTube advert, presented information packs to all Rochdale Mosques, visited churches and opened dialogue with local councillors. Read the rest of this entry »
By Majed Iqbal-Over 150 women attended a seminar on Saturday 20th June in Manchester , Longsight, organised by the women chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir that addressed the various challenges Muslim women are currently facing in Britain today
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The seminar titled “Muslim Women in Today’s Britain- The Challenges and the Solutions” aimed to tackle the pressing questions that have been a huge discussion point in government circles, the press, media, on the lips politicians and a cause of concern in the Muslim community throughout the country.
Dr. Nazreen Nawaz, the Women’s Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain presented a picture of the current climate where a Muslim woman living in Britain is constantly under pressure to re-evaluate who she is, whether their Islamic identity is relevant for modern life, to question whether their Islamic beliefs are appropriate for British society, being asked to question the relevance of Shariah in her life, being continuously examined if her Islamic views are tolerant and compatible with ensuring a cohesive society and to adopt values that are at odds with their religious convictions.
“The hijab, the role of women, Islam’s punishments, liberation of occupied land, prohibition of homosexuality, the Global Islamic bond between Muslims and championing the call for a caliphate for the Muslim World are all been labelled oppressive, backward, intolerant, barbaric, and unacceptable and a threat to British society.” Said Dr. Nazreen Nawaz Read the rest of this entry »
By Zaythoun Suleman- When I was five, all I wanted was to play with my friends and enjoy my childhood under the cloudless skies and fields full of daisies. I was unaware of the dangers and evils of this world and if it was up to me, I would have loved to have it kept that way for as long as possible.
Do our children really need to begin knowing about sex and relationships at 5 years old? Is making them aware of their body parts and sexual acts preparing them to make informed decisions for the future or is the Government opening Pandora’s box even further? A box filled with evil unleashed to plague the innocent mind is surely doing more damage than good.
The evil spreading reminds me of nuclear bombs dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the effect of which is long-term devastation and destruction for many years to come. Instead of equipping them to protect themselves from the monsters of society, Isn’t SRE making them more vulnerable with this knowledge?
Children are an amanah (trust) given to us by Allah Subhana wa Ta’ala; with their minds fresh and like sponges, they absorb information from all around them. They are like a handful of clay that can be moulded to form any shape. It is up to us as parents or carers on how we should mould them.
So how do we as parents reply when our children come and ask us “Mum/Dad where do babies come from?” Read the rest of this entry »
The following article was published on the Asian News Site covering the Rochdale campaign against SRE for 5 year old primary school children.
A MUSLIM community activist is campaigning against government plans to introduce sex and relationship education to primary school children as young as five.
Rochdale blogger, Majed Iqbal set up a Facebook campaign this week and has created a campaign video which can be seen on you tube to challenge the plans and is urging both Muslims and non-Muslim parents to join.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families announced plans last year that sex education and lessons about the dangers of drugs and alcohol will become compulsory in primary and secondary schools under government plans to protect young people from pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse.
Under the proposals, which are unlikely to come into force until next year, children will learn to talk about peer pressure and their feelings, in sex and relationship education (SRE) lessons. They will learn the names of body parts and about animal reproduction. Read the rest of this entry »
The Special Report below takes a critical look at certain values which is believed to be having a detrimental effect upon society. Certin realities are posed and presented and fresh angles are given to offer a critique on what alternative set of values may offer solutions to the problems faced.
The Special Report looks at the issue of Crime and social Responsibility in Britian today. It goes on also to map out how the values of Islam when applied in a society can be one of the effective mechanisms deployed in fashioning a society where responsibility on all indiviual citizens is the cornerstone and norm for all.
The document can be downloaded in PDF format to print out and read. Please click here to download your Copy. The Special report can be read below. Click more for the article to appear in Full.
Individualism OR Collective responsibility? By Majed Iqbal
On 16th of July, Gordon Brown announced the first ever cross-government youth crime plan with new enforcement measures and improvements to sentencing. It would include and a new approach to youth crime prevention – including “tough parenting” programmes targeted on areas with the most problems.
“I know the police are doing everything in their power to bring those responsible to justice,” he said.
In the same week, David Cameron launched his party’s campaign in what he called Britain’s “‘Broken society by-election’. Read the rest of this entry »
By Waseem Aslam- David Cameron is famed for his biking riding adventures. He will tell you all that is a part of his new green image for the future of Britain and the world. Mr Cameron will tell us all a lot of things. He is a man of many forthright views, most of these views (he would call them policies) when put to the test fail miserably.
There was his ‘hug a hoody’ fiasco when Mr Cameron’s attempt to reach out to the disaffected youth of the council estate in Britain backfired. The only problem here was that the hoddies quite frankly didn’t want to be hugged. They seemed more content on expressing their Democratically won freedom by displaying their knives and gang signs on You Tube (15 minutes of fame and all that).
The hoodies got their own back on Mr Cameron by stealing his bike from outside a Tesco store in London, the bike had been chained to a 3ft high bollard and the theives simply lifted it up and over the bollard for an easy steal.
What was Mr Cameron’s response? Did he announce he wanted to give the thives a big old fashoined bear hug? No! Read the rest of this entry »
By Majed Iqbal- Crime- the topic of discussion which is hot in the press, on the lips of Politicians and the subject of detailed disocourse on Television was brought into the limelight on Saturday 6th July in Rochdale.
Organisers, Hizb ut-Tahrir, deliberated upon the subject issue, presenting a case of facts, figures and analysis on the growing endemic of crime to a crowd of 90 people.
Mazhar Khan, touched upon key ideas which had allowed crime to flourish. “Were the existing punishments a detterrant or an incentive?” he asked the audience. He cited examples of how teenage crime amongst youth was seen as an easy alternative.
You steal, get caught, put into prison for a couple of months where you socialise with like minded individuals, no rent to pay, free food, Nintendo Wii’s to fill your time with, free holidays for repeat offenders to Blackpool and most importantly you keep the money made out of the theft.
“How are these measures supposed to curb crime?” asked Mazhar. Read the rest of this entry »
The Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has hailed the Islamic penal code saying they were effective in deterrence against the criminal offenders. Addressing a workshop on “Growing Crimes – deterrent punishment : search for appropriate theory of punishment”, organized by the organization of Retired Judges and NALSAR University at the Andhra Pradesh High Court Balakrishnan gave the example of Gulf countries.
“Women can move around even at midnight with out any fear”, he said. “Even traffic rules were so strict that there were very few traffic accidents in those countries”.
He recalled that till 1857, Islamic penal system was in force in India and the law and order situation in the country was very good.
“The introduction of Indian Penal Code was a good move but the law and order situation in the country did not remain the same”, Chief Justice said. Pointing out that in contrast to the Gulf countries, India was a democratic country. “But in our country neither the women can move around with out fear nor there is any respect for the traffic rules”, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
By Majed Iqbal- What was sparked off as a major discussion in February this year by Archbishop Rowan Williams on Shariah law has once again re-surfaced in the Media. However, this time its not a religious figure who will be maligned by the nation for promoting values of Islam instead of his own faith.
Joining the discussion this time round is Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers who has said “There is no reason why sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution“.
The judge said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had been misunderstood when it was reported in February that he said British Muslims could be governed by sharia law. “Dr Williams suggested that sharia could play a role in aspects of marital law, the regulation of financial transactions and authorised structures of mediation and conflict resolution. It was not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes” he said.
Whilst one would warm to the comments made by the Chief Justice in appreciating how Shariah has the ability to resolve disputes in a manner in personal lives in a decent and befitting manner, much to the contrary of what is seen in wider society, his understanding of how shariah deals with crime and punishment in societal life seems to be marred with the same images of ‘Kangaroo courts’ displayed in Tabloid press and documentaries that have hit our screens. Read the rest of this entry »
By Majed Iqbal- A new campaign has been launched in Rochdale which plans to open up discussion and debate over the increasing levels of intolerance currently witnessed throughout Europe against Muslims and their way of life, Islam.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has launched this campaign, titled ‘Stand for Islam’ in Rochdale to tackle the various challenges dawning over the Muslim Community. Majeds Blog will be providing exclusive coverage of the whole campaign and the messages being relayed to the Rochdale Muslim Community.
In recent years, especially the last few, have seen many attempts which have mocked Shariah law, equated the Niqab to segregation of British Society, a ban on the Hijab in France, Mosque applications denied in Italy, caricatures of the Prophet of Islam arrogantly published by Danish Media, the British Government trying to threaten islamic grous with bans after being heavily challenged on Foreign Policy in the Muslim World, Dutch MP Geert Wilders calling for the ban of the Quran, and the viable alternative of governance in the Muslim world, the Caliphate (khilafah) heavily attacked as being outdated, irrelevant and a system which demonises minorities, denies womens rights and equated to a dictatorship. Read the rest of this entry »
By Moh Bloggs - Just like Kryptonite to Superman, there are some things British society just can’t stand. In the last week one of these seems to be Islam I say this having considered the gravity of the statement very carefully.
Ever since the comments from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowen Williams, regarding the possible use of some aspects of Sharia law for Muslims in the areas of marriage and the like, there has been a frenzy of anti-muslim sentiments. These have been expressed by the media (both written and visual) and by the average person on the street.
The very idea of Muslims using Islam to solve their own problems has been lost in the noise about how supposedly backward Sharia is, conjuring up scenes of hand chopping and public floggings in the streets of Britain. Read the rest of this entry »
GALLUP REPORT- Majority of Pakistanis want Shariah Law
Once again, the nation of Pakistan thrusts itself onto the World scene as Political commentators debate and discuss its future. These Commentators are not just restricted to those from Pakistan but extend internationally pursuing the unfolding events over the Upcoming Elections Issue with a detailed eye.
In the Video report, the analysts deal with the latest news that over 51% of Pakistanis want Shariah Law as the only Source, 24% said that it should be one of the Sources and a meagre 6% stated it should not be a source.
The upcoming Elections in Pakistan are being watched and supervised by external powers to make sure their conjured up formula for a Pakistan which is favourable to Western Interests in the region will be fulfilled. These Elections should also be at the height of importance for the Muslims of Pakistan to reject the formation of a government which will act on behalf of foreign powers rather than securing the intrests of Muslims.
Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud and Tirmidhi reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “Each one of you is a guardian and you are all responsible about your guardianship, the Imam is a guardian of the people and he is responsible for his guardianship of the people.”
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