“Leading figures in the five principal faiths in Britain discuss their beliefs and answer questions about their basic faith and their own spiritual journeys.

The key figures interviewed are Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, Muslim theologian Tariq Ramadan, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Swami Pramtattvadas.

As well as addressing the 'big questions', including their concepts of God, heaven and hell, they speak frankly about their struggles and frequent moments of doubt, about the divisions within their ranks and crimes that have been committed in the name of religion.”

I only caught the second half of the show, but was just in time to see Tariq Ramadan do a really bad job of explaining the infamous 'wife-beating' verse in the Qur'an. It's not entirely his fault… editing is a dodgy business, and he only had one sentence to work with, really. But that's why I get quite annoyed with these types of shows. You aren't given the time to do justice to any topic.

But his brief explanation irked me, because it came across as: “Yes, the Qur'an says beat your wife, but wife beating goes against Islamic tradition”. Erm… does that mean the Qur'an isn't the basis of Islamic tradition? His answer was confusing, and odd, and I am sure he himself would not be happy at how it sounded.

Anyway, I don't want to dwell on that topic – but, for any non-Muslims reading: the Qur'an is, in fact, the basis of Islamic tradition, and no, it doesn't tell men to beat their wives black and blue. I want to find a good article to explain in more detail, but I am too afraid to Google for an answer – seriously, Islamophobic search results scare me. I'll have to ask around for one, instead.

What I do want to briefly talk about is the idea of religion being the root of all evil.

It's not that I want to argue for or against the motion; rather, I think the motion itself is rather moot. People are always going to believe in something, whether their belief is good or bad. People are going to base their actions on that belief – one definition of religion – whatever is said. Even people who claim that they don't believe, because disbelief is faith: “I don't believe in God” is equivalent to “I believe there is no God”.

So, religion – organized, decentralized, old, new, traditional, progressive – will always exist. It is part of the human condition.

The Qur'an has an explanation for this. In surah 51, verse 56, God says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
I have only created Jinns and men, that they may worship Me.

Therefore, faith, worship, religion: it's all in our DNA. The choices of what we believe in, whom we worship, and the actions thereafter, are more influenced by our environment, it seems – and ultimately, all guidance is from Allāh.

It's not that the debate is completely useless, but I suspect that many individuals use it simply to undermine those in favour of religion. That is quite hypocritical, when you realize that no human being is free of faith, and its influence.

Therefore, the argument should be rephrased, from: “Is religion the root of all evil?” to “Can religion be used for evil intent?” – the latter is definitely a more fruitful discussion, which could actually lead to people reforming their harmful, misguided behaviour, and avoids the impossible end-goal of abandoning faith altogether.

The following is my personal favourite; click to enlarge.

Jazakallah khair to brother Mohammed for inviting me to Cumbria, and granting my father and I a personalised tour of the area.

I'll be representing MuslimMatters, so please make dua that I don't let the side down, as it'll be my first time doing anything like this (I'm trying to minimize your expectations; remember, blogging and public speaking are two different animals!).

Welcome to Muslim 2.0 – a wired generation whose members would rather pose their tough questions to Shaykh Google than their local Imam and who feel more connected to the Facebook ummah than the congregation at the local mosque. Never has Muslim conversation buzzed with so many divergent, combative and off-the-wall perspectives.

But is more Muslim chatter really better?

Has Web 2.0 democratised Muslim debate, and if so at what cost?

Are we talking to each other or at each other?

With so many blogs, websites and forums to choose from, are we actually engaging with other points of view or are we comfortable staying in our intellectual (and spiritual) ghettos?

Join us for Divan 2.0, as we bring together some of British Islam's most (in)famous bloggers, web pioneers and online warriors for some face-to-face debate. They will be taking your questions in this special “Question Time” style event.

Challenge and be challenged – submit your questions in advance and come ready to jump into fray!

For those who can't make the free event in London, you can watch live via the little video box below. It'll start approx. 7.15pm BST (GMT+1), inshā’Allāh.

The female instructor gave us several pieces of advice, but the one that stuck in my head the most was how to effectively communicate with male colleagues. A very important topic, considering that the workplace is still somewhat of a “man's world”.

Women have a great knack of speaking quickly, almost nonstop, without the need for pause of breath in between sharing a whole host of thoughts and ideas; additionally, we have no problems interpreting information presented in this fashion. Just observe two women gabbing in the kitchen at lightning speed, over cups of tea and chocolate-covered digestives, and you'll see what I mean.

However, according to our instructor, men are not very good at assimilating information when presented in long, spoken sentences, and will only likely remember the last few words that are thrown at them. Apparently, communicating with men in this way is akin to verbal assault.

I found this to be a very strange concept, and almost didn't believe it. That is, until I recalled the classic sitcom scenario:

A husband pretends to listen, while his wife continuously pours out her frustrations, unaware that her words are falling onto deaf ears. He adds to the illusion by throwing in the odd, well-timed: “a-ha”, “hmm, and “yes, dear”. However, the tone of scene quickly shifts when the wife eventually realizes his indifference. Upon being jogged awake by screams of: “Are you even listening to me?!“, the panicked husband tries to cover his tracks by repeating the last few words that remain in his subconscious. This usually turns out to be the absolutely wrong thing to say, and much hilarity ensues.

Indeed, I myself, have often lamented over the apparent inattentiveness of male acquaintances, whom I perceived to be purposefully disinterested. Now I suspect that their brains were not appropriately wired to receive my transmissions. Or maybe I really was boring them to sleep…

Anyhow, the instructor's remedy was simple: if you want to get a message across to a man – whatever the situation – the best method of delivery is short sentences, with distinct breaks in between phrases, to allow the brain time to sort through the information.

Initially, I was quite excited to experiment with this technique. However, I soon began to consider the implications of acting upon such advice: would it be condescending for me to speak at a slower pace to a man – just because he is a man?

It's one thing to behave differently because I want to communicate more effectively – but what if this implies that I think all men are 'slow' and thus need special treatment? Even if such gender-specific practices are pragmatic – are they also insulting?

After all, many women are offended when their own biology is turned against them by their male counterparts. For example, when we're accused of being 'overly emotional', or when “that time of the month” is used as an excuse to undermine a genuine grievance.

Personally, I think it is a matter of intention. But as neither gender can read minds, I suspect that they are forever fated to battle through their physiological differences. It seems that only patience, thick skins, and the Grace of God can save us from all out war.

Communities and Local Government

Community Relations: Islam

Paul Goodman (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Wycombe, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings Ministers in her Department have had with groups of British Muslims on the possible effects of events in Gaza since 27 December 2008 on community cohesion; and what the names were of the individuals who attended each meeting.

—

Sadiq Khan (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Community Cohension and Fire and Rescue Service), Department for Communities and Local Government; Tooting, Labour

Since 27 December the following meetings have been held:

On 6 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met a range of representatives and individuals from a number of organisations including but not limited to the Quilliam Foundation, Muslim Council of Britain, British Muslim Forum, the Sufi Muslim Council, the Al Khoei Foundation, the UK Ismaili Council and the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation.

On 8 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met members of the National Muslim Women's Advisory Group (NMWAG).

On 10 January I met the Young Muslims Advisory Group (YMAG) at their YMAG residential meeting.

On 12 January the Communities Secretary, the Foreign Secretary and I met representatives and individuals from a number of organisations including but not limited to the Quilliam Foundation, Muslim Council of Britain, British Muslim Forum, City Circle, the YMAG, British Muslims for a Secular Democracy, the Sufi Muslim Council, the Al Khoei Foundation, the UK Ismaili Council and the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation.

On 13 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met members of the YMAG.

On 15 January the Communities Secretary and the Home Secretary met representatives and individuals from a number of organisations, including the Sufi Muslim Council, Al Khoei Foundation, the NMWAG, the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation, Association of Muslim Social Scientists, the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, Active Change Foundation, and Quilliam Foundation.

On 15 January I met members of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board.

On 15 January I also met front line providers and deliverers to hear their concerns.

Not all of the above named groups are supported by the majority of people that they purportedly represent. But for whatever reason, they're the ones who the government are prepared to talk to. That means they are shaping policies – policies that affect the rest of us – whether we like it or not. In that respect, the repeated mention of the Quilliam Foundation is worrisome.

Some highlights:

Lord Renton of Mount Harry (Conservative) “… there was a proposal for young Muslims to be taught citizenship in school so that they could see that there was no necessary conflict between Islam and British life? That is a difficult task, but has the process started and is it succeeding?”

I can't imagine it would be any more difficult to teach citizenship to Muslim youth, than to any other average young person. Can anyone add some insight – teachers, young people, youth workers, etc.?

—

Lord Hylton (Crossbench) “My Lords, do the Government recognise that British Muslims and others should be free to make political criticisms of military occupations and regimes, where these occur, without automatically being labelled as extremists?”

Baroness Andrews (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Labour) “My Lords, we certainly agree with that. Our work to prevent extremism is simply to build up the resilience of local communities to deal with distortions of the faith. That is why we are working at civic and community level and with faith groups to put into practice some of the opportunities, for example new activities for young people and leadership programmes for women and young people, which can help to challenge such distortion.”

Government meddling in religious affairs… that always ends well… </sarcasm>

—

Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Spokesperson in the Lords (Discrimination Law Refrom), Women and Equality; Liberal Democrat) “My Lords, is there a danger in lumping people together into different communities… People within those groups are individual human beings with very different positions. If we classify them in that way, will we not create a divisive rather than a united system?”

—

Baroness Warsi (Shadow Minister (Community Cohesion), Communities and Local Government; Conservative) “My Lords, can the Minister confirm that British Muslim communities are part of the general communities which make up Britain? If that is so, can she explain why the British Muslim engagement unit is based in the Foreign Office?”

Hilarious!

—

Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Spokesperson in the Lords, Home Affairs; Liberal Democrat) “My Lords, in January we saw the appointment of 19 women to the National Muslim Women's Advisory Group… in the interests of equality, why a Muslim men's group has not been established…?”

Baroness Andrews (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Labour) “My Lords, as the noble Baroness well knows, we work with women because they are underrepresented as leaders in the community… She will know that men in the Muslim communities—this is a rather mischievous question—are very well represented”

Roughly translates as: “Oy, Miss Cheeky! Stop stirring!“

—

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT RAMADHAN

The BBC is making a documentary called “The Funny Thing About Ramadhan”. The programme will be presented by comedienne and former Blair spin doctor Ayesha Hazarika, and directed by Irshad Ashraf (director of “The Muslim Jesus”).

Seen through the eyes of presenter Ayesha, the viewer will meet a cross section of fasting people to gain a humorous and insightful feel of what it is like to fast in Britain.

Irshad is looking for interesting people or groups of people who want to share their funniest stories of fasting. Please contact philip.lindh[at]bbc.co.uk or irshad.ashraf[at]bbc.co.uk if you want to take part.

You should be available for filming between 4th – 16 August.

[iMuslim: I'm not so sure what's so funny about Ramadan - do you have any interesting stories? Plus doesn't it start in September this year?]

—

ARE YOU AN OSAMA OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS ?

A forthcoming C4 documentary exploring Muslim culture through Muslims named Osama would like to talk to people with the name Osama (or Usama/Oussama, etc…). Farrah and Masood are travelling to Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, North American and the UK looking for 500 Osamas. If you are called Osama or know someone who is, then please contact us.  You may write to osamahq[at]osamaloves.com or go directly to our website and register your interest at http://osamaloves.channel4.com/referrers/new

[iMuslim: This reminds me of the comedy show: "Are You Dave Gorman?"]
—

CHANNEL 4 WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ONLINE BRITISH MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Where do British Muslims go on the web? What sites excite them or entertain them? Do social networks and blogs cater to the needs of Muslims? Channel 4 is conducting research into the online habits and interests of British Muslim communities. If you would like to contribute to this research or have any comments to make, please e-mail Bushra at: BeeSiddiq[at]googlemail.com

[iMuslim: Sister Bushra actually asked me to post this ad a while ago, and I kept forgetting. Sorry sis! It's not actually for a TV programme; it is market research into the browsing habits of Brit Muslims to be used in shaping Ch4's website... or something like that, inshā’Allāh]

The sex debate/talk/discussion was very interesting. Admittedly, my sole intention for attending was to speak to Imam Webb in person about something (to be revealed later), and for once, “Muslim time” (i.e., the observation that all Muslim-run events invariably start late – I won't be a hypocrite; my life also runs by Muslim time, astagfirullah) was in my favour, and it allowed me a few seconds to ask what needed to be asked of the Imam, alhamdulillah.

Imam Webb was part of a panel with two other notable speakers, māshā’Allāh. However, from the look on his face when he wasn't speaking, he seemed like he'd rather be somewhere else entirely, which was a little disconcerting. Was he tired, was he annoyed… was he bored?! It only made sense near the end when he revealed that his father was having major surgery today (it was in the context of him asking the audience a rhetorical question, of how many Imams actually make dua for reverts on the mimbar?). So let us all pray for his father's health. I am not sure if he is Muslim, but at least for the sake of the Imam – may Allāh guide us all to His Truth, āmīn.

My thoughts on the talk will come later, methinks, when they are better formed, inshā’Allāh.

—

I came home after 10 pm, sat down with my late dinner, and watched the Dispatches programme that I had made sure to record, alhamdulillah. I'm not sure what to say. These days I am trying to be less reactionary with my opinions. It would be too easy to jump on this and go “Wahey! For once, a pro-Muslim piece of journalism – on mainstream TV – at a time when people are actually awake to watch it! Woohoo!”.

It was… different. Yes, good different. It showed the other side; the repercussions of the sensationalist, tabloid media machine, and how it sets up the public conscious against this season's 'evil' minority. As much as some people like to think humanity is somehow enlightened, that we are actually evolving socially, and even biologically: Newsflash – we're just as prone to racism and prejudice as we have always been. A cynical thought? Not really. Just a reminder that we shouldn't take advances in Science and Technology, to also mean that we have progressed ethically as a species. We must always be on guard against such evils.

Overall, I am a bit sick of TV. It doesn't mean much to me these days. I don't like the fact that people still look to it to be informed of any matter of consequence; at least in the context of social commentary. Educational programmes, Nature documentaries, fair enough – but not current affairs, and politics. I do watch BBC News 24, but don't necessarily believe anything that they say. Rather, I use it as a gauge of what the average Joe is being spoon-fed during this 24-hour period, so I can prepare myself adequately, inshā’Allāh. Btw, I am not arrogantly claiming that I am somehow “informed” and not prone to propoganda or 'group think' as everyone else. I am just trying to somehow not to be so easily mislead – may Allāh make it easy for me.

I use TV as a form of medication for my brain. When I need to unwind, and literally “switch off”, I sit down for an hour and try to find the least harmful thing that will provide me some “halal” entertainment. Perhaps there is no such thing on TV, cos day or night, the adverts are filled with sights that induce some level of gaze-lowering. I think I already mentioned somewhere that I am a big fan of MythBusters. It has the right mix of 'science', stupidity, fun, and blowing stuff up. A winning combination, really.

The internet is great; at least in those places where you are pretty much free to surf as you please, without barriers enforced by the State (it's all for our protection, honestly – {sarcastic cough}). We can't really claim that it's the melting pot of ideas and self-expression that we'd like it to be, as we do end up hanging out in our little online “tribes” – for peace of mind, if anything else. And where you do get interaction between “tribes”, it's usually in the form of keyboard-based hostilities. At the same time, if you really want to break from the mould, and discover alternative theories – both baseless and factual – the internet is the place to look. How blessed are we to have this amazing tool for interaction, education and communication in our lifetime? And who knows where it will take us, inshā’Allāh?

Anyway, as you can see, my mind is all over the place. I am in one of those contemplative moods, and it bugs me like crazy that I have no-one at home right now to dump my brain onto. Yes, blogging rules. {grin} But discussing matters face-to-face is far more satisfying. Oh well. Alhamdulillah.

Okay, I am now signing off, before I waste any more of your time, and mine… peace.

—
Monday 7 July 2008 at 8pm on Channel 4

Dispatches: It Shouldn't Happen to a Muslim

On the third anniversary of the 7/7 London Bombings, political commentator and journalist Peter Oborne investigates whether these attacks and the fear of terrorism has fuelled the rise of violence, intolerance and hatred against British Muslims. He discovers that for many in the Muslim community, Britain is becoming a very frightening place. Dispatches meets a range of British Muslims who now live in daily fear, some because their homes are constantly vandalised, others because they or family have suffered devastatingly violent attacks.

An exclusive ICM opinion poll commissioned for Dispatches reveals the extent to which Muslims have experienced hostility, abuse and prejudice since 7/7. The same poll also reveals the general public's attitudes towards Islam and relations with Muslims.

Since the bombings there has understandably been much press coverage of the attacks and other terrorist incidents. Oborne investigates whether this coverage has had the side-effect of portraying Islam and British Muslims in a relentlessly negative fashion, leading to the demonization of a diverse group of two million people, most of whom have nothing to do with terrorism.

Dispatches commissioned a sophisticated study of press coverage from Cardiff University's School of Journalism. The research examined articles published in the British press over the last eight years and their depiction of Muslims and Islam. The troubling results of the study are revealed in the film.

Oborne also investigates the sources and accuracy of a rash of press stories that have entered the public consciousness – such as a London council 'banning Christmas' out of deference to Muslims and a 'Muslim hate mob' wrecking a house rented to returning soldiers from Afghanistan.

Oborne concludes that in today's climate the media say things about Islam and Muslims they would never say about other groups. When he replaces the word' 'Muslim' in some recent headlines with 'Jews', 'Blacks' and 'Gays' and shows them to members of the public, they find those headlines deeply offensive.

In his first interview since leaving the Metropolitan Police, the man who headed anti-terror operations on 7/7 and afterwards, former assistant commissioner Andy Hayman talks about the poor relations between Muslims and the security services.

There will also be an opportunity to put your questions to Peter Oborne in a live web chat that will take place on the Channel 4 website after the Dispatches programme finishes at 9pm on Monday 7th July.

—

I think I'm going to have to record it, cos I'll be attending a talk with Suhaib Webb around that time, inshā’Allāh. I missed a course that he was running this weekend in London, cos I had guests. {sad face}

But all things for a reason, eh? Alhamdulillah.

I talked about it quite a bit on MuslimMatters.

Well, to top it all off, I managed to wangle an interview with one of the “mentors”, Sr. Dawn Bates. She's a really nice gal, māshā’Allāh.

Check it out at Nisaa.ca.