islam today - Issue 27 / May - June 2015

issue 27 vol.3

May/June 2015

The self-determiningworld system of Islam

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Disclaimer: Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not nec-essarily coincide with the editorial views of the publisher or islam today. All infor-mation in this magazine is verified to the best of the authors’ and the publisher’s ability. However, islam today shall not be liable or responsible for loss or damage arising from any users’ reliance on information obtained from the magazine.

Publisher: Islamic Centre of England 140 Maida Vale London, W9 1QB - UK 2 2

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Editorial team

Back Cover

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islam today magazine intends to address the concerns and aspirations of a vibrant Muslim community by providing readers with inspiration, information, a sense of community and solutions through its unique and specialised contents. It also sets out to help Muslims and non-Muslims better understand and appreciate the nature of a dynamic faith.

From the Editor

5

Life & Community

6Society’s norms can sometimes add pres-sure to the lives of individuals. Sabnum Dharamsi discusses the experience of an adopted child and her struggle with self-esteem

10Not being able to have children has a great effect on the mental wellbeing of women. Talking to some women who have gone through this experience, Batool Hay-dar shares their stories and experiences

14

Rashid Rose asks why Black communities around the world, specifically in the UK, USA and the Caribbean are apparently at the bottom of the commercial, economic and social ladder and what is being done to redress this problem

Art

18One to one with Aysa Ali

20Newsha Tavakolian

21Tiraz with fish motif - Silk

The Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia

Cover

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Not responding well to the social needs of the community we live in will bring chaos and failure for Muslims says Yasser Ahmed

Opinion

26

Julia Khadija Lafene reflects on the mean-ing of freedom of speech for Muslims and how best they can respond to mockery and insult

Faith

30

With the holy month of Ramadhan start-ing at the beginning of summer this year, Harun Yahya reminds us of its special features and the effect it has on believers across the world

32Converts, Embracers, Reverts, Submitters, …are some of the terms used by those who embrace Islam. Ali Carlentini discusses the importance of using the right one

4

Interfaith

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As the British government passes a law on three-parent babies, Frank Gelli takes a look at the differing views within the religious establishment

Health

38

Advances in genetic manipulation have opened new possibilities to remove ge-netic diseases. Laleh Lohrasbi examines the procedures involved in creating a three-parent baby

What & Where

42Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy Qur’an

Education, Extremism and Criticality – Conference

‘What does being Welsh mean to me?’

Muslim-Jewish Panel Series: Modern Jewish and Islamic philosophy

The Super Hero Run 2015 -Islamic relief

Texts to Live by - Love and compassion

School digital session- Digital Islam

Sukuk Summit 2015 - ‘Globalising Sukuk Beyond Tradi-tional Markets, Structures & Asset Pools’

The Kaaba and the Kiswa

Minorities and Popular Culture in The Modern Middle East: Representation and Participation

Advanced Ibn Taymiyya Study Weekend

Symposium on Religious Conversion

Conference: Wittgenstein and Interreligious Communica-tion

BRISMES Annual Conference: Liberation

Glossary of Islamic Symbols The letter (s) after the name of the Prophet Muhammad(s) stands

for the Arabic phrase sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam, meaning: “May

God bless him [Muhammad] and grant him peace”.

The letter (a) stands for the Arabic phrase ‘alayhis-salaam, ‘alayhas-salaam (feminine) and ‘alayhimus-salaam (plural)

meaning respectively: (God’s) Peace be with him/ her/ or them.

5

A

EditorFrom the

6

Sometimes society’s norms can add pressure to the life of

individuals. Sabnum Dharamsi discusses the experience of an

adopted child and her struggle with self-esteem

Outsiders to

‘normality’

W

24

Somewhere in our psyches we carry an

idealised image of family – maybe two

parents who stay together, children, …

Although these perceptions … seem surface

discourage behaviour outside these norms.

8

Our thoughts matter and they make a

difference. Whether they come out in body

language, in conversations, or the way these

thoughts get crystallised in the media or

popular culture, they carry weight.

9

“And the blind man and the seer are not equal, neither are those who believe and do good works (equal with) the evil-doer. Little do you reflect!” (40:57-58)

fitri

‘And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colours. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge.’ (30:22)

Sabnum Dharamsi is a thera-pist and co-founder of Islamic Counselling Training.

10

MissMothe

Not being able to have childr

mental wellbeing of women. Ba

of some women who have gon

11

sion:erhood

ren has a great effect on the

Batool Haydar shares the stories

ne through this experience

12

T

Do We Need Help?

The Pressure to Repro-duce

medical intervention, the challenges only

increase. Whether they decide to go down

the path of continuing to try for children

should be a private decision, but often

family and community get involved even

though their intervention is not solicited.

1

Seeking Out The Sense

11

In His Hands

26

*All names have been changed.

Inevitably, it is the women who have to

bear the burden of both personal grief

and societal stigma. In cases where there

stigma can be confused with religion and

women end up feeling that they are not only

incomplete as women, but also as Muslims

Batool Haydar is a wordsmith who has writ-ten many articles and blogs

14

Spearheadingchanges in the

Blackcommunity

Rashid Rose

and social ladder and what is being done to redress this problem

15

16

T

Self-identification

‘Everyday life in early West African Empire’

1 12 1

we were not born in Africa and hence are not African’

1 18

In an effort to gain some economic

inspiration, Black people should look back at

life in Africa before the Europeans’ arrival.

A map drawn in 1375 CE shows a trader on camelback coming to the great leader of the Islamic Mali Empire, Mansa Musa. He is holding a huge gold nugget.

1

Things are changing

Fragmentation of the Black community into

several identities has contributed to their

disconnection from their historical cultural

heritage. [This] … has produced a narrative

of disempowerment which partially accounts

for their low socio-economic status.

Rashid Rose is Co-founder of the Afro-Caribbean Muslim Federation

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“Some of the sahaba (Prophet’s companions) went to the King of Persia to convey the message of Islam. And when they went before the King, he laughed at them and sent them away with a large chest as a gift, but the chest was filled with dirt and earth. One of the sahaba became very angry and said ‘how dare he!’ The other said ‘no, don’t worry. This is a sign. In no time, we will have this land.”

21

What prompted you to start a theatre company?

1996

Why theatre as a means of artistic expression?

Art Editor Moriam Grillo

Story-tellingOne to one with Aysa Ali

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Why is story so important?

How does story relate to Islam and the Qur’an?

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16

1980

2015

2011

Photography Newsha Tavakolian

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969 11 1

The Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia

1998

Laila Saab: Muslim Communities of VenezuelaThrough May 2015

‘Symbol of Power and Beauty: The Art of Muslim Warfare’Through August 2015

00

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Moriam Grillo is an international artist. She holds Bachelor degrees in Photography & Film and Ceramics, her current projects include a commission for the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham.

The place to Be

Heritage10 11

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The self-determiningworld system of IslamThe self-determiningworld system of Islam

2

Looking back at Islamic civilisation

Yasser Ahmed explains how

understanding historical processes

is fundamental in helping Muslims

to produce a more authentic

narrative on Islam and of important

role it continues to play in the world

History

24

T 1800

1966

The misportrayal of Islam in today’s world

has produced a simplistic understanding that

takes no account of its historical, religious,

and cultural and knowledge-based heritage

that successfully produced great Islamic

civilisations.

25

10

When social scientists and researchers of

the imperial powers of Europe began to

study Islam in around 1800, they did it in

an effort to separate it from its historical

position in history. They struggled to

produce a narrative of European superiority

and distinctiveness.

26

Free speech and Islam

Muslimsthe dilemma

for

Lafene

for Muslims and how best they can respond to mockery and insult

2

T ‘freedom of speech’

18

28

everyone can give their opinion publicly about any

topic and can do so in any way they like including

using mockery, satire or insult to get a point across.

29

49 1

25 6

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Julia Khadija Lafene graduated in Modern History from Oxford University. Since embracing Islam she has studied Islamic psychology and self-knowledge.

In Muslim countries the tradition of freely criticising

the government has not developed to the extent

it has in the west since most governments have

suppressed it. But there is a long tradition of

questioning and discussing religious issues.

0

A54

8

With the holy month of Ramadhan starting at the beginning

of summer this year, Harun Yahya reminds us of its special

features and the effect it has on believers across the world

The abundance of the holy

month of RamadhanThe abundance of the holy

month of Ramadhan

1

65 6

11

6

The Qur’an being sent down in the month of Ramadhan

‘The month of Ramadhan is the one in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with Clear Signs containing guidance and discrimina-tion. (Qur’an 2: 185)

2

1211

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A divine transformation takes place in

Muslims in the month of Ramadhan. Disputes

aid and solidarity, and therefore goodness,

all increase.

God reveals in the Qur’an that it was sent

down in the month of Ramadhan. It took

23 years for the whole of the Qur’an to be

revealed, either in verses or sometimes in

whole chapters. That happened more or less

during the 12 years of the Makkan period

and 11 years of the Medina period. Adnan Oktar, also known as Harun Yahya, is a Turkish author and an Islamic creationist

2

As Islam’s power of attraction brings new people to the faith,

Ali Carlentini argues against using terminologies of self-

Why I am not aRevert

R

(such as Arabs, Persians, Turks….)

‘indigenisation’ / ‘localisa-tion’

If we take into consideration that

one of the general meanings of

in character, form, or function,

overall experience of changing

one’s faith. The key point here is

4

Interfaith

Three-parent

babies:right or wrong?

Three-parent

babies:right or wrong?The possibility of having babies carrying the genetic DNA of three individuals

is now a legal reality. Frank Gelli explains the current debate within the

religious establishment on three-parent children

5

W

such as three-parent babies is the so-called

such technology you may start an irresistible,

fatal slide into something undesirable or

6

9

such as three-parent babies is the so-called

such technology you may start an irresistible,

fatal slide into something undesirable or

Revd Frank Julian Gelli is an Anglican priest, cultural critic and a religious controversialist, working on religious dialogue. His last book ‘The Dark Side of England’. An exposé, is available on Amazon Kindle.

88

Health

Health Editor Laleh Lohrasbi

Babies to be created

from three people

99

The mitochondria are passed down the

maternal line, … About 2,500 women in

Britain are at risk of bearing children with

estimate that around 125 babies are born

with the mutations in Britain every year.

Laleh

Lohrasbi examines

40

1920 82 128

20 000

0 054

2 500

125

40

Father’s sperm

41

Pro and against

0 054

2000

2016

41

The Church argues that there should be

more time for consultation and research …

In the Islamic faith the involvement of three

people in a fertility procedure such as where

the egg of the mother is replaced with one

from a donor is already practised.

Dr Laleh Lohrasbi is a pharmacologist. She has worked as an editor for the medical section of “Hamshahri”, a daily newspaper in Tehran.

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Through May & June Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy

Qur’an

By Shaykh Bahmanpour Venue: Islamic Centre of England, 140 Maida

Vale, London W9 1QB

Time: Every Friday starting at 7:45pm

8 May Education, Extremism and

Criticality – Conference

Speaker: Professor Humayun Ansari OBE, Royal

Holloway Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm

Venue: Jeffery Hall, UCL Institute of Education, 20

Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL

Fee: BERA members - £10.00 and Non-BERA

members - £20.00

12 May ‘What does being Welsh mean to

me?’

Time: 5:15pm - 6:15pm

Venue: John Percival Building, Colum Drive,

Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Muslim-Jewish Panel Series:

Modern Jewish and Islamic

philosophy

Time: 5.00pm

Venue: Rooms 8-9, Faculty of Asian and Middle

Eastern Studies (FAMES), Woolf Institute 12-14

Grange Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DU

More Info: http://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/events/

17 May The Super Hero Run 2015 -Islamic

relief

1 000

Venue: Regents Park

Registration fee: £22

Fundraising target: £100

Register: https://www.doitforcharity.com/book-

online.aspx?eid=2773&cid=45985&charity=true

For more information email challenges@

islamic-relief.org.uk

31 May Texts to Live by - Love and

compassion

Venue: London Inter Faith Centre, 125 Salusbury

Road, London NW6 6RG

Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

More info: maggie.hindley@londoninterfaith.

org.uk

Through May & June

School digital session- Digital Islam

Venue: The British Museum

Time: Wednesday 6 May 10.30 & 12.30 and

Tuesday 9 June 10.30 & 12.30

For Key Stage 3 & 4 students.

Maximum group size: 15Free, booking essen-

tial. Cancellation and no-show charges apply.

Phone: 020 7323 8181

3 - 4 June Sukuk Summit 2015 - ‘Globalising

Sukuk Beyond Traditional Markets,

Structures & Asset Pools’

2014

2015

Time: 9.30am - 5.30pm

4

Venue: Jumeirah Carlton Tower - 2 Cadogan

Place, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 9PY

Fee: £1,695.00 pp

More Info: http://sukuksummit.co.uk/

10 June

The Kaaba and the Kiswa

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Venue: Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS, Thornhaugh

Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG

12 June

Minorities and Popular Culture

in the Modern Middle East:

Representation and Participation

Organised by: The Woolf Institute.

Time: 9:00am - 6:00pm

Venue: Brunei Gallery: Room B102, SOAS

University, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square,

WC1H 0XG

More Info: http://www.soas.ac.uk/cclps/events/

13 - 14 June Advanced Ibn Taymiyya Study

Weekend

Speakers: Professor Yahya Michot [Hartford

Seminary, USA] and Professor Jon Hoover

[University of Nottingham, UK] Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm Venue: Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London,

WC1E 7HX Fee: from £50 for weekend More Info: http://islamiccourses.org/courses/

15 June Symposium on Religious

Conversion

Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm Venue: Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern

Studies, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, CB3 9DA More Info: [email protected]

24 - 25 June

Conference: Wittgenstein and

Interreligious Communication

Conference Organiser: Dr Gorazd Andrejč

Time: 9.00am - 7.30pm

Venue: Westminster College, Madingley Rd,

Cambridge CB3, UK

More Info: https://wittcomm.wordpress.com/

24 - 26 June

BRISMES Annual Conference:

Liberation

20112015

Venue: The Middle East Centre, LSE and Political

Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE

Fee: Full Conference (2.5 Days) - £240

More Info: http://brismes2015.com/