Such are the problems and crises facing Muslims in the world today that many Muslims become deeply pessimistic, even hopeless, about the future of the Ummah. In his talk at a Milad Conference in Pretoria last month, ZAFAR BANGASH, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, highlighted the centrality of optimism in the Seerah.
This month - Rabi al-Awwal in the Hijri calendar - sees celebrations of the birth of the Prophet (saw) all over the Muslim world. In this article, ZAFAR BANGASH, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), discusses some key elements of the Seerah.
The ICIT conference in Toronto marking the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution was attended by several senior Islamic movement leaders. This is the paper presented by HUJJATUL-ISLAM MOHAMMAD BAQER ANSARI of the Department of International Affairs of the Rahbari (the office of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution).
On February 12 the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and the Islamic Society of York Region convened a conference in Toronto to mark the 26th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Here we publish a report on the conference.
The heavy American assault on Falluja in November ranks among the worst crimes ever committed against Muslims. ZAFAR BANGASH, director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, answers two key questions that it raises.
It is not without good reason that the world focused so intensely on the illness and death of Yasser Arafat, and on his multinational, multistage funeral...
Few Muslims doubt that one of the major tasks facing us is the reversal of the impact of colonialism on our societies. However, the extent of this impact is seldom noticed. YUSUF AL-KHABBAZ discusses the need to decolonize our minds...
The Ikhwan al-Muslimeen, the largest Islamic movement in Egypt, was recently subjected to the biggest crackdown for many years, resulting in the death in prison of Akram Zuhayri on June 9...
Hundreds of Islamic movement scholars and activists gathered in Iran last month for a conference marking the anniversary of the death of Imam Khomeini...
The unity of the Ummah of Islam was a key theme of the Islamic Revolution under Imam Khomeini (r.a.) He instituted the Hafta-e Wahdat (Unity Week) each year in Rabi al-Awwal, marked by annual Unity Conferences in Tehran...
Among the many functions around the world celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution was one in Toronto, Canada.
The "essentially disputed" concept of democracy now dominates much of Muslim political discourse. IQBAL SIDDIQUI questions its utility, suggesting that it is virtually meaningless and creates more problems than it solves.
As this issue of Crescent International goes to press, some two million Muslims are gathered to perform the Hajj, and the entire Ummah is preparing to mark Eid al-Adha...
This month Muslims from all over the world will travel to the Hijaz for the Hajj, which will take place early in February. The worldview of Islam is a dynamic system of thought. It brings to life and modern relevance events that took place a long time ago...
In October the Egyptian authorities released several hundred political detainees, out of the many thousands that it is estimated to hold. Those who were released included the so-called "historical leaders" of the Gama’ah Islamiyya (Islamic Group), who were nearing the end of the 25-year prison sentences they were given in connection with the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Since the war on Iraq ardent calls for "change" have become fashionable in Arab countries. These appeals come from various quarters. However, the variety of the demands for change betray the nature and the extent of the power-war currently unfolding in the region.
A spate of recent events highlights the urgency with which the Americans are trying to reshape Islam in their own image and interests. Since mid-August, for example, reports in several Egyptian newspapers have told of dozens of mosque imams and khateebs being sent to America secretly in what are called "cultural exchanges".
ZAFAR BANGASH , director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), discusses the challenges facing Iraqi ulama under American occupation and their responses to those challenges.
Terrorism is not new to Britain: its past is marked by IRA threats, riots and bombings. Nor does this problem belong to a remote past. Relatively recent attacks, for example the IRA’s failed attempt to kill PM Mrs Thatcher (a bomb at Brighton’s Grand Hotel during the Tory party conference in 1984) and also the 3,000lb IRA bomb-explosion in Manchester on 15 June 1996, which injured more than 200 people, are proof of that.
The future of the Islamic Revolution in Iran is currently the subject of some debate. Here we publish an abridged extract from DR KALIM SIDDIQUI’s paper ‘Error, deviation, correction and convergence in Muslim political thought’ (1989), on the political thought of Imam Khomeini which underpinned the Revolution.
