Niqab discussion

Newsnight, BBC Two, 10:30pm Monday 23rd August 2010 "Increasing numbers of British Muslim women are choosing to wear the face veil. Two women explain to Newsnight why they adopted the niqab when their mothers did not."

Timothy Winter profile

The Independent, Timothy Winter: Britain's most influential Muslim - and it was all down to a peach, 20 Aug 2010 "The hitherto unnoticed Mr Winter, who has an office in Cambridge University's Divinity Faculty, where he is the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies, has been listed ahead of the presidents of Iran and Egypt, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mahmoud Abbas. "Strange bedfellows," he concedes."

The 2010 listing can be found here to download: Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

Bradford

Samira Shackle, New Statesman, The mosques aren’t working in Bradistan "Phil Lewis, a lecturer in peace studies at Bradford University, expands on this. "The mosques aren't working for them, home isn't working for them. These kids are in moral free fall - who are their role models?"

"The same frustration is expressed by some young, tracksuit-clad Mirpuri men on a run-down street in Bradford. "I'm a Yorkshireman," Saeed, aged 19, tells me. "I get angry with my parents when it's all about 'back home' and sending money there. I'm proud of my heritage, but this is my home. I've only been to Pakistan twice."

First UK Islamic bond launches

FT.com / Capital Markets - First UK Islamic bond launches, 17 Aug 2010 "The first UK Islamic bond has been launched in a significant development that could prompt other British companies to raise money in the niche market."

Nick Clegg

eurasiareview.com, UK's Clegg Praises Muslim Community, 17 Aug 2010 "Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has expressed his admiration of Muslim generosity and compassion during the fasting month of Ramadan as an "example to all", particularly in responding to Pakistans worst-ever floods."

Campus radicalisation issues

Pakinam Amer, almasryalyoum.com, Islamic radicalization on UK campuses: Islamic literature, 9 Aug 2010 "At City University, an annual event held in 2009 by its Islamic society (ISOC) featured Anwar al-Awlaki, a popular yet radical preacher who was profiled in previous installments. And the ISOC's website linked to others that advocate the same Islam that might have helped turn ex-Islamists like Shiraz Maher and Ed Husain into isolated individuals and then radicals. The website links also deepen the notion that the world is at war with Islam, not terrorism."

Babar Ahmed

Michael Peel,ft.com, Four police charged with assault on terror suspect, 12 Aug 2010 "Four Metropolitan police officers have been charged with assaulting Babar Ahmad, a terror suspect fighting extradition to the US, in a case likely to trigger fresh criticism of the way prosecutors deal with allegations against Scotland Yard."

Minhaj-ul-Quran camp

Dominic Casciani, BBC News, Muslim summer camp preaches 'anti-terror' message, 8 Aug 2010 "Mohammed and his colleagues have stacked it with copies of Dr Qadri's lectures and tapes and every Friday they go from location to location, encouraging young people to hop on board.

"He says it gives them a chance to influence what young minds are exposed to.

""The internet plays a big part in what is going on", he says.

""If you type "jihad" into Google you'll get hundreds of results. You don't know when you click whether they're right or wrong."

Orkney Muslims

Christopher Howse, Telegraph, Ramadan in an Orkney summer, 6 Aug 2010 "Muslims in Orkney will be setting their alarm clocks with some care from next Wednesday. For it is the beginning of Ramadan (if the new moon is sighted). For the 30 days of Ramadan, no food or drink may be consumed during the hours of daylight. In Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney, sunrise is at 5.19 and sunset at 9.11pm."

Ramadan

The Independent, Ramadan and me: A month in the life of British Muslims, 8 Aug 2010 "Muslims across the country are preparing for the start of Ramadan on Wednesday. That means stocking up on tasty food, such spices, sweetmeats and sugary drinks, with which to break their daily fasts. It also means planning prayers and family gatherings."

al-Hidayah 2010

The Guardian, Muslim group holds 'anti-terrorism' summer camp, 8 Aug 2010 "Devotees of Muslim scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri have gathered at the University of Warwick's campus to be taught practical ways of countering extremist views in their schools, universities and communities. They have been learning how to engage with people expressing extremist views and are being directed to passages in the Qur'an and other Islamic texts to allow them to argue against them."

More info on al-Hidayah 2010

British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD)

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Daily Mail, The Talibanisation of British childhood by hardline parents, 5 Aug 2010: "In my role as chair of the British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD), which campaigns against fanaticism, many inner-city teachers have told me they feel paralysed by extreme demands."

Information on the British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD)

This in turn links into The Samosa blog

Andrew Gilligan's op-ed on the Guardian's perspective

Andrew Gilligan, Telegraph Blogs, The Guardian's latest Islamist press release, 5 Aug 2010 "I appear to have written about The Guardian three days in a row – sorry about that – but the paper’s latest wretched press release for the forces of Islamism can’t go unmentioned." Opinion piece. Expect some further responses online...

Mashal Radio

Manchester Evening News, Faithful are hitting the decks for radio Ramadan, 4 Aug 2010: "Community radio station Mashal Radio will once again be hitting the airwaves as the borough’s Muslim community begin preparations for the holy month of Ramadan.

"The station will be launched on Wednesday and broadcast for the next 30 days with a host of programmes catered for an Islamic audience."

For more info, see mashalradio.com

Allegations

Daily Telegraph, Mainstream Islamic organisations "share al-Qaeda ideology", 5 Aug 2010 "The report, sent to the government’s Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT), was not intended for publication but has now been leaked on the internet.

"Entitled "Preventing terrorism, where next for Britain?" it says the ideology of non-violent Islamists is “broadly the same as that of violent Islamists” adding “they disagree only on tactics.”

Virtually Islamic re-configuration

The main hub of my site is being re-configured. This means that all listings can now be located via www.virtuallyislamic.com. This includes Islamic Studies Pathways, running since 1996, which will no longer be available on its old URL from September. The bibliographies for my books can all now be found on my central hub:

iMuslims Bibliography

Islam in the Digital Age: Bibliography

Virtually Islamic Bibliography

Islamic Blogosphere

My blogs continue in their usual location.

"Anti-Mosque Sentiment in America: Lessons from Europe?"

Todd Green, Huffington Post, Anti-Mosque Sentiment in America: Lessons from Europe?, 31 Jul 2010 "Many Americans find it difficult to believe that the U.S. has anything to learn from Europe when it comes to religion. The recent controversies over mosques suggest otherwise. That's because this is a story that has been playing out in Europe for some time, with results ranging from restrictions on religious liberty to a worsening of tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims. America cannot afford to go down the same path."

IVF & related issues

Annie Snider, Religion News Service, huffingtonpost.com, Infertile Muslim Parents Face Tough Choices, Pressure, 2 Aug 2010 as much an issue in Britain as elsewhere "As scientific advances create more choices for couples trying to build families, Muslims face religious teachings that rule out many options available to other couples."

op-ed on burka

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Daily Mail, "The burka empowering women? You must be mad, minister "These British apologists for the burka make me see red, whatever side of the political spectrum they come from."

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown seethes.

'Halal' make-up

sify.com, Britain's first 'halal' cosmetics, 25 Jul 2010

"British entrepreneur Samina Akhter set up Samina Pure Makeup at her home in Birmingham after questioning the ingredients of many international brand makeup products, Sky News reported."

Also see Aftab Gulzar, BBC Asian Network, Halal certified make-up launched in UK, 22 Jul 2010



For further information, see Samina Pure Makeup "All Samina Pure Mineral Makeup products formulate healthy mineral foundations and powders that are are FREE from, Animal products, artificial dyes, FD&C colours, talc, bismuth Oxychloride, Mineral Oil (and its derivatives), paraben preservatives, petroleum derived ingredients, fillers, lanolin, beeswax or any other animal products."

Something for everyone in today's blog: I'd imagine there would be a wider market for these products

Islamic Education And Research Academy report

sify.com, Survey finds 'most non-Muslim Britons equating Islam with terrorism, 4 Aug 2010 "Non-Muslims in Britain are by and large ignorant about Islam and equate the religion with terrorism, according to a Islamic Education And Research Academy (iERA) survey."

The report is here (PDF): IERA, Non-Muslims Perceptions on Islam and Muslims I haven't read this one yet.

Also see Haroon Siddique, Guardian, Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam negative for Britain, 2 Aug 2010 "The study, carried out for iERA out by DJS Research, used face-to face questionnaires to ascertain the views of a "statistically robust" sample of 500 randomly selected non-Muslims."

Footnote: I see that the IERA's advisors include Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips and Dr. Zakir Naik.