Muslim unity cannot be achieved through slogans. It requires practical steps, the first being each side showing respect to the other and being sensitive about what concerns them most.
Praying to Allah for His help in these trying times for Muslims.
Far from fulfilling their responsibility to defend the state’s borders against external enemies, Muslim militaries have perfected the art of conquering their own people. This is what has just happened in Egypt, as in numerous other countries before.
If the ulama adhere to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, they are a blessing but unfortunately many of them have succumbed to the temptations of the dunya, as Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s recent behaviour has shown.
The ulama are supposed to be inheritors of the Prophets but only if they adhere to the divine commands. When they fall for worldly temptations, they become a curse. This is what appears to have happened to Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a well-known alim, who has now joined the hate-spewing Saudis in spreading sectarianism.
Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has a long list of accomplishments as scholar, speaker and struggler but his recent position has stunned many in the Ummah. How could he, of all people, be advocating civil war among Muslims?
1We live in strange times. There are Muslim scholars that quote the Qur’an, Hadith and the Sahaba liberally yet in their behaviour they are far removed from justice. On the other hand, we have people who have never read the Qur’an but are willing to sacrifice the comforts of life to uphold truth and justice.
Two Muslim countries—Malaysia and Pakistan—have held elections. People in the third, Islamic Iran, will go to the polls on June 14. There have been complaints of rigging in the first two; only in Islamic Iran are elections held in an organized and proper manner highlighting the difference between a secular system and that based on Islamic values.
The cliques that run mosques in North America pursue their own narrow agendas without addressing the burning issues or paying attention to the needs of the people. This has resulted in alienating most Muslims.
In the second part of this essay, Zafar Bangash, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) discusses the political culture of Islam and how its revival is essential for the Ummah.
Even a small group of committed Muslims can bring about meaningful change in society, says reader Muslim Mahmood from Nigeria.
What or who constitutes the Ummah and how should we define progress? Zafar Bangash examines these concepts and sheds light from the Islamic perspective challenging some long-held but erroneous beliefs.
Islamic activists, scholars and intellectuals gathered in Tehran for the annual Islamic Awakening conference.
Sectarianism has reared its ugly head, not because it is natural, but that there are forces deliberately trying to stoke fears. Muslim scholars in Malaysia have taken a bold stand against such machinations and called for proper understanding.
If Muslims are not careful, they may end up causing so much damage to the Ummah that it will take many generations to recover. The poison of sectarianism is spread and financed by Saudi Arabia and its Arabian allies.
Those opposed to Bashar al-Asad’s regime in Syria are prepared to strike a deal with the devil. This will cost the Syrian people dearly if such a diabolical plot succeeds.
The Muslims have reposed high expectations in the people and leadership of Egypt. Will the new leadership follow in the footsteps of Hassan al-Banna and Syed Qutb or end up compromising with imperialism and Zionism?
As Muslims struggle to change the imposed political systems in their societies, it is important to understand current ground realities, where they want to go and who is going to lead them.
Muslims have been at the receiving end of western aggression long before the events of 911 that the west has used to justify its wars on Afghanistan, Iraq and other Muslim countries.
Unity seems to elude Muslims but can they not learn from the geese and how they help each other?
