Matters of (Islamic) Opinion

Last Saturday, another teacher and I were having a discussion of Islamic sects and schools of thought with our 15/16 year old students. I'd typically only teach A Level Maths but on this occasion I helped out with the Islamic Studies class. Our discussion was prompted by a question around how flexible Islam is and why Muslims are not required to be identical and why Muslims can, in fact, hold different opinions on the same issue and all be correct. One of the students mentioned that he had once been praying and a friend of his tried to physically correct a minor detail in how he was praying during his actual prayer and later refused to accept that there were multiple acceptable styles. It was different to how he did it so therefore it must be wrong - and he refused to back down until eventually his father explained to him.

As the discussion progressed, we talked of the differences between Sunni and Shia, the differences in madhdhabs (schools of thought) and differences in practice. We outlined the madhdhabs and made clear that they were not the work of the one single eponymous person but large bodies of work by numerous scholars spanning all the centuries. We touched upon how the variations in practice came about and held firm that variation is not just tolerated but is a blessing. Most importantly we tried to explain that different does not necessarily mean better or worse.

The best example we could give was the narration covering the time a group of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) companions had gone to visit a specific place. Before their departure they'd been given instructions not to pray their (Asr) afternoon prayer until they arrived at the place. However, the travel took longer than expected and sunset approached well before they arrived. With time for the afternoon prayer fast running out, a discussion broke out over whether they should pray now or continue on. Some said the point of the instruction was to get them to make haste, others said the instruction was definitive in when they should pray. Without settling the disagreement, some prayed there and then and the rest waited to pray until arrival - going beyond sunset and outside the specified timings.

Upon their return, they put the question to the Prophet (pbuh): who was in the right? He said both views were acceptable. Put simply, while there are certain inviolable and immutable beliefs, reasonable differing opinions on matters of law were and are acceptable.

Later that same Saturday I was as at a friend's house for dinner and during the course of the evening I was talking with a married couple that I hadn't met before. The husband had been brought up as a Muslim and the wife was a reverted Muslim. Alongside the excellent and fascinating food, they both had fascinating stories of the journey to Islam, the expectations of their different cultures and how their own expectations of difficulties with cross-cultural marriage didn't really materialise as predicted.
For example, when the British Christian parents were due to meet the Pakistani Muslim parents, there was considerable nervousness but they got on astonishingly over a mutual shared interest in Medicine and Science! One pair were doctors and the other pair a nurse and a scientist. Those of you with friends in medical fields will know about medic-chat - on this occasion it was certainly welcome!

One curiosity which did intrigue me was the issue of how a revert to Islam chooses a 'type' of Islam to follow. Those who are brought up as Muslims tend to passively go with the type that they were raised as but it must be difficult when having to actively make a choice. I asked the question and the answer I got was quite pleasing. The choice she'd made was to be Muslim - a strict sub-type choice wasn't necessary. She continued that one of the first questions people would ask when she told them that she had reverted was "Which sect are you?" and in the initial instance everyone would try and persuade her that theirs was the best way!

This brought to mind the discussion at school and the people for whom my way is the only way and any variation from this is inferior and wrong. It's quite a contemporary and historical phenomenon, not just in the Muslim faith but in general human history.

In Islam there are different schools of thought and paths and there is an ever present danger that when someone doesn't take the time to learn about themselves and others and their beliefs they can forget that that the road to salvation is not a tightrope. It is exactly a road - with people in many lanes and travelling at different speeds. You might find yourself veering off if you're not careful but justifiably doing things a little differently to someone else doesn't keep you from continuing in the right direction. Different does not necessarily mean better or worse.

Next Article: What to expect on a Driver Awareness Course
Previous Article: Are you single? I know someone.

P.S.

We're always keen for volunteer teachers - no experience necessary!

If you are interested in teaching, volunteering or working with the school please contact the headteacher Shaimaa at ccwestsatschool@gmail.com.

The school runs every Saturday (subject to the school timetable) from 10am-1.30pm at the MCHC, 244 Acklam Road, W10 5YG. (Year 4 to A Level)

Are you single? I know someone.

Part and parcel of the single life is that friends and acquaintances may try and introduce you to someone they know. It's usually a noble goal and usually it's well-intentioned. And usually it's gratefully received - it gives a nice fuzzy feeling that someone is thinking of you and also thinks well enough of you that they're comfortable with allowing you to meet other people they know.

That said, there are good ways to suggest an introduction and there are ways that are not so good. Coming from a Muslim background where casual dating is not part of the single lifestyle - there's a lot riding on a successful introduction. This might be better in a flowchart but relationships are not often spoken about in Muslim circles so allow me to break down what good looks like:

The first question normally asked is clarification if you are still single. Understandably important because there's no point going any further if you're off the market. A simple yes or no deals with this one and if it's a "Yes" then we're good to progress to the next level.

The next comment/question is where you can usually tell if someone's made introductions before or if they're unpractised.

If they say "I know someone who's also single. Do you want to know more?" it's a strong indication that they're new to this. It's not an issue if they are new, but you on the receiving end of the introduction will have to be prepared to be just a little bit patient and to help them while they're trying to help you.

Of course you want to know more. You're very much aware that there are numerous singles of the opposite gender out there in the world and you very much want to know more about them! And as I've already pointed out - the Muslim way is to accelerate from zero to married which means it's a high-stakes game.

Some people may well be happy to meet someone armed with only the knowledge that they are also single. "She's female. You're male. You should obviously get married." Maybe I've been affected by modern thinking but I like to know that there might be some compatibility and that it's not a random roll of the dice by the introducer. I myself like to pretend I'm a busy person which means I theoretically don't have time to follow up on every whim and fancy.

Information is important. If you are the singleton on the receiving end of this, play nicely and ask the introducer the following four questions. And if you are the introducer - as a minimum be prepared to answer the following four questions:

• How you know the person? 
• What you know about them? 
• Why you think we'd do well together?
• Do you have a photo?

Detail is very welcome but answers don't need to be extensive and thorough - just enough to provide an indication that the introducer has put some thought into the introduction. "I know them from a place I volunteer. They're x years old, funny, creative and a practicing Muslim. They have an above-average interest in memes." is a perfectly good answer.

On to the photo. Human beings are visual creatures and we've learned to identify people by their faces - don't feel embarrassed to ask for one. Blind dates can be interesting but better to know who you're dealing with. As a minimum the photo should be clear enough that it could be used to successfully identify the person (without third party assistance) if and when the first meeting happens. Nothing blurry or low-resolution please. And definitely nothing with Snapchat rabbit-ears.

As an introducer be prepared to answer a few more questions (e.g. job/hobbies etc) but if you've got the above covered then you can pat yourself on the back - you're on your way to a job well done!

Next Article: Matters of (Islamic) Opinion
Previous Article: London standing proud

A Question of Wardrobe

One of my WhatsApp groups took a shot of adrenaline today and came alive after a few days of quiet with a fascinating and long discussion about clothing and not from a fashionista point of view but rather a spiritual view.

It began, as these things do, with a message on a totally different topic. Someone shared a video with a scholar/preacher encouraging his audience to take an active part in their society/community and boost their civic engagement. A fine and noble goal and the video sat there unassumingly until someone else questioned the potential irony in the fact that the preacher was wearing a thawb -  a garment typically associated with the modern Arab Middle East.

Aside from the question of whether the thawb is islamic or simply arabic (two distinct categorisations), the underlying question being posed was Is it better to wear 'islamic' clothing or 'contemporary' clothing? Simple enough question but from here the discussion simply blew up and so began a long multi-partisan talks covering various factors that each person thought were relevant and important. Points were made and evidences supplied along with hadith and scholarly opinions and even quotes from various texts.

It rapidly became clear that the main point of contention was borne out from that if we begin from the axiom that the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the best way, it naturally follows that how he dressed is then the best way to dress. But as a man of his time, he dressed like the society around him. Modestly, yes, but in the style of his local culture. So it becomes a question of should Muslims dress literally like him or figuratively like him?

The discussion went on for several hours but the eventual residual conclusion was that really people should wear what they want. The explicit rules of clothing simply require modesty - anything after that is purely dependent on your purpose and intention. Either dress literally like the Prophet (pbuh) did and wear similar clothing to him because of your love for him or dress figuratively like the Prophet (pbuh) and wear contemporary clothing from your culture because of your love for him.

The essential fact in the decision making process is that as Muslims we love the Prophet (pbuh) and actions are by intention so what others might think of your clothing is a lesser concern so long as it's bringing you closer to Allah (God).

That said, in the world we live in today, it would be foolish to disregard the power of branding and the message it sends to your audience. There's probably a blogpost in this on its own but how you clothe yourself is very much part of your personal brand and if a simple change of clothing (that fits in with your beliefs) allows you to reach multiple audiences with your message then by all means make the most of that flexibility!

Previous Article: #NoMuslimBan
Next Article: London standing proud

President Trump

Tomorrow, 20th January 2017, sees the handover of executive power in the USA from Barack Obama to Donald Trump and I'm still in a state of confusion about this whole election. It's been a while since my last post, during which I've been exploring alternative avenues of creative expression (Periscoped Life and Muslim Harry Potter) and dealing with a couple of personal issues but now that we're so close to the official transfer of power, despite being in the UK and not directly affected by it, I can't help but be a little nervous about the new situation.

In conventional elections, people generally vote according to the political party representative that they feel holds the best policies and when the election is over the person makes an effort to fulfil the pledges and promises they made. You vote with a rough idea of what to expect.

The bizarre situation that the Americans are in now is that Trump was voted in on a whole lot of rhetoric and numerous ridiculous policies (anyone for a Mexican-paid wall or bringing back torture?). We'd have been in a pretty dire situation if he had pursued these policies but now that he's backtracked on quite a few of them and established that he's not interested in keeping his word or integrity, we're in a position of not knowing what on earth he plans to do other than his well documented attempts at being friendly with Vladimir Putin of Russia. So far as his promise of 'draining the Washington DC swamp' of lobbyists and special interest groups goes, he seems to be going for the approach of replacing the lobbyists with the people the lobbyists were representing. The best example of this being choosing the CEO of ExxonMobil - the world's largest oil company - as Secretary of State - the country's most senior diplomat.

Those of us in other countries can take some solace in the fact that we're not directly affected, but still be anxious in the fact that we'll be indirectly affected. The USA does hold the title of world's most powerful nation and - like it or not - decisions and actions that take place there have ripple effects across the world and as the country pushes a more divided and unpredictable line, this leads to unpredictable reactions by those affected and fairly soon we'll end up with a whole lot of uncertainty and find ourselves living in an even more reactionary and even more suspicious world.

However, while the average person can't do so much about what goes on in the upper echelons of the corridors of power, we can do a lot with our own actions and choices. When all around you is uncertain and seemingly going to hell in a handcart, keeping a level head and not giving in to the lure of suspicion and fear of your fellow man at an individual level is the only way to counter the forces that seek to divide.

To quote from the Quran 13:11 "Indeed, Allah (God) will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." This verse has multiple meanings and contexts but the essence of is that change has to come from within and with personal and individual effort, not whimsical hope for an undeserved or unearned saviour/miracle to remove what hardship the people are facing.

So rather than run scared and full of fear, keep praying and show love, affection and good judgement to those around you. Keep fighting ignorance and injustice where you see it while being careful not to indulge in those vices yourself. Maintain your own environment and help those around you maintain theirs without encroaching on the rights of others and with a little luck perhaps we'll all live to see another inauguration in four years time!


Previous Article: Wedding Speech #2
Next Article: #NoMuslimBan

Contemplation

My maternal grandmother passed away in India last night after a long and active life of 90 years. Given her age and that at last news her health was deteriorating, it didn't come as a complete surprise but the event does certainly stir the emotions. When Muslims hear of a death, we say inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon - To God we belong and to Him we return. It's light on the tongue but a heavy and beautiful reminder that our lives are not ours to fritter away but to make the most of it with goodly action as we are all going to go on that path, or as Game of Thrones would have it - valar morghulis.

Living as we did, several thousand miles apart, most of what I remember about her was from my childhood when we'd make frequent family trips to India but even then, I don't immediately remember a great deal from those trips - as a child my major concern was that we'd always go in the summer holidays which corresponded to monsoon season in India which meant we were mostly indoors.

Upon hearing of her death, I pondered - trying to remember what I could about her. I remember an old photo where she was robustly holding my toddler self while my older cousins posed and I remember the last time I saw her. I last visited India ten years ago and my Urdu is quite awful so when I was around her I couldn't communicate all that effectively but I remember her waving from the window when we were making our goodbyes and I remember thinking how small and fragile she looked, and in my youthful arrogance, wondering if I'd see her again. Not my greatest moment but I do also remember praying for her and myself as a result.

In all honesty, it saddens me to admit that I didn't know much about her beyond a general overview of her life. My memories of her are clearly very limited and 90 years is a long time and those who were geographically closer like my cousins will no doubt tell me numerous stories about her as the days go by. I could be very wrong (and I'm sure my cousins will correct me if so!) but hers was not a life of grand and momentous activity but a relatively simple life much like countless anonymous others. Growing up in a village before ending up in Mumbai with my grandfather, she did her duty and fulfilled her religious and social role: believer, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother.

That's not to say her life was unimportant - every life is. She was loved by those she knew and to those whose lives she was directly or indirectly involved in she made a huge difference and had huge impact. The values she instilled in her children live on in the generations that came after and our very existence was naturally dependent on her. Her descendants have ended up all over the globe making what further impact they can in their own social circles and much like ripples on the sea, it's impossible to track what far-reaching effect these are having.

It's more than a passing curiosity that, even in our modern and progressive world, when people hear of a death they grow solemn and supportive and still acknowledge that the ending of a life is a significant thing. My various WhatsApp groups have been hugely supportive with prayers for her forgiveness and granting of Paradise to her and it's genuinely moving and appreciated. People make time to visit close relatives of the deceased and even brand new work colleagues are understanding of the need for flexibility.

When we hear of the death of strangers on the news its relatively easy to dissociate oneself from it but when it's someone you know who's been affected it's all that much closer to home and that little phrase becomes a stark reminder of our own mortality and the productiveness of our own existence.

To God we belong and to Him we return.

Previous Article: Hello from the other side

Goodbye with/without regret?

I've spent the last month at work steadily working down my notice period up until today when I finally walked out of my office for the last time. It's been an interesting month, not least because I handed in my notice the day after a new person joined my team to work alongside me, but also because of the emotional rollercoaster of saying goodbye and moving on to a new circumstance.

I began the transition and handover of some of my projects to my new colleague and in doing so began to realise the actual, surprisingly impressive scale of the things I was responsible for. I had been thinking I wasn't doing all that much so my initial thought was that the handover would be done in a week and then I would be twiddling my thumbs for the rest of the month - I was quite looking forward to the relaxation! In reality, the handover went on all the way until the half an hour before I left because it turned out I was actually doing quite a lot. I was very pleased and amused by this - I'd overlooked that I had slowly built up the know-how and depth for my projects over a year and a half and become somewhat desensitised to how much I was actually doing.

On the other side of the emotional coin was the feeling of having a deadline to my relationships with the various friends I had collected through seeing and interacting with them on a daily basis. Jokes were made and banter was had, but this being the third job I would leave, I was very aware that while I might add everybody on LinkedIn, people are busy and move on quickly and only a few would end up keeping in touch and I myself would only keep in touch with a few.

I also had a leaving lunch today with colleagues who'd been on my team. At the end of the meal, following standard office tradition, I was given a gift and a card signed by numerous others from the office. Upon returning to my desk, I finished off my handover activity and then scratched around for things to delay my departure so I could stay around my friends for a little longer. But I didn't have anything left to do and they did have things to do so I called it a day, said my goodbyes and left the building.

I read the card on the way home and some of the comments were touchingly personal and some were expectedly general ("Good luck Yusuf!") but still nice to see and made it even more of an emotional wrench to have said goodbye.

I had made my choice to leave a month previously when I had accepted my next job and I handed my notice in but as with any kind of change I wondered whether I handled things correctly, whether I had done the best I could and whether there were things I might have done differently? There is an emotional cycle to change and even if you end up where you were hoping to be, the human mind loves to play "What If...?" games.

You can always imagine that there might have been a better outcome, or if you'd tried harder, you could have avoided having to leave or change your situation. Or look at the upcoming uncertainty and imagine it's going to be totally terrible and being to regret having made the decision. There's a quote which is (mistakenly) attributed to Mark Twain: "Some of the worst things in my life never even happened". The human mind is a powerful thing and imagined, unlikely and hypothetical scenarios can put you off making good decisions.

From my perspective, I had made my decision based on the knowledge available to me at the time and with the realisation that maintaining the status quo has repercussions just as changing the situation does. The future is always uncertain and regardless of whether you do a particular thing or do not, circumstances will change around you and you'll end up with regrets either way for what might have been if you made the opposite decision.

I had also done Istikhara (Islamic Guidance Prayer), the meaning of which is particularly beautiful and reassuring. I've pasted the second half of it below, but in essence you're requesting assistance from God to help you be certain that you've made the right decision, to be pleased with the outcome and free you from the consuming burden of regret. And that is freedom is a great mental state to have when making decisions.

O Allah! If in Your Knowledge [this matter] be good for my faith (Deen), for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then ordain it for me, and make it easy for me, and bless me therein. But if in Your Knowledge, [this matter] be bad for my faith (Deen) for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then turn it away from me, and turn me away therefrom, and ordain for me the good wherever it be, and cause me to be pleased therewith.


Previous Article: Qibla and reliance on technology
Next Article: Clinton or Trump?

Noor Tagouri and a needless dose of outrage

I came across a little storm on the internet over this recent weekend, Noor Tagouri - an American Muslim broadcaster in her early twenties was apparently interviewed by Playboy magazine as a Renegade/rising star in broadcast media (I'm not linking to it but I'm sure if you really wanted to find it, you could). She has an online following on Instagram and Twitter like any nascent celebrity should and proudly and vocally wears the hijab/scarf. This last bit is important to note to understand the storm.

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about Noor Tagouri and hadn't heard of her until this week and this is all from Google as she's not a serious enough celebrity yet to have her own Wikipedia page. I haven't read the Playboy interview either as I want to approach this from the theoretical point of view of the standard angry Twitter user/keyboard warrior.

This is Noor Tagouri. Image taken from Aquila Style

The little storm I mentioned is the storm that's blown up over whether, as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman who has pursued a life direction which puts her in the public eye, Noor should have agreed to be interviewed by Playboy magazine - a magazine which is world renowned for its appeal to the baser needs of men. It's also caused people who were comfortable and complacent in their own practice and life to ask questions of what hijab means.

My own personal view on the matter is that I don't really care. This is a stance I take on most celebrity news stories so there's nothing new here.

It is interesting though to observe the storm that's developed amongst the online Muslim community. Based on the number of different articles and sources I've seen posted, it's definitely generated a lot of commentary and a large number of strong opinions being formed by what seems to be all sides. For example, there's people saying she's being a brave Muslim and others calling her a disgraceful Muslim, some saying that it's raising and normalising hijab awareness and other saying it makes a mockery of the hijab.

Controversy by its very definition is divisive and polarises opinion. But controversy is also very fascinating and as a PR move this episode has certainly raised awareness of Noor in the Muslim community. With the wider public who pay attention to such matters, this will help Noor break further into being seen as mainstream personality. But my feeling is that most of the casual 'readers' of Playboy magazine likely won't be paying attention to the magazine text so possibly awareness with these fellows will be limited.

From what I can observe people on both sides of the 'debate' are stirred by the same thing: Noor has taken her Islamic hijab to places it wouldn't be expected. Some call it brave and support her, others call it unnecessary and don't support her. Others still call it dangerous and a betrayal and vilify her.

Playboy is known for its exploitation of immodesty so it's a fair question to ask if a person pushing a modest agenda should feature in it (for an interview not a risqué photoshoot). Seemingly it's a direct contradiction with the modest purpose of the hijab. You can have your opinion and form your own judgement on this question. The simplicity of the question also makes it a very easy one with which to take one of multiple moral high grounds and there's nothing people like more than seizing the moral high ground.

The pro-moral high ground is that she's done it to challenge stereotypes and make the hijab more mainstream in the USA and to show that Muslim women are empowered and boost awareness and improve mainstream attitudes towards Islam.

The anti-moral high ground is that her actions are not modest and she has a young, impressionable following and by associating with a famously immodest magazine she's undermining what it means to be an empowered Muslim woman and also going against Islamic teaching and practice of modesty.

In this instance, both sides have a reasonable case and which particular moral high ground you take you really depends on your own whim and circumstance and your attitude to being outraged. The anti- high ground offers more opportunity for outrage and personal feeling so it's unsurprising that lots of people have taken this stance. The pro- high ground requires a more circumspect view and offers less immediate outrage gratification but allows you to get outraged at the stance that the anti- moral high grounders have taken.

I personally find it hard to get outraged anymore in the modern world we live in where hyperbole and extreme reaction are becoming more and more normal.

I don't feel strongly about this issue at all but I'd say Noor should live her life based on what she feels is right and not be worried about what her more outspoken followers would like her to do based on the lives that they lead. Whatever she does, people will talk and judge and she'll have to live with whatever the worldly outcome may be and the departure or arrival of followers and supporters.

Her intention is her own though and, according to Islamic tradition, that will be judged by Allah (God). The rest of us can comment and criticise or support or not care either way and, so long as comment is respectful, let the non-outraged discussions and explorations continue!

Previous article: YMLP Reunion 2016
Next article: Qibla and reliance on technology

Bearing Witness

I was fortunate enough today to witness a man accept Islam. I turned up as usual to my regular Wednesday Qur'an study circle to find three strange men sitting at the back of the room. I smiled, mouthed hello and then promptly forgot about them. I continued to forget about them until the imam, Ajmal Masroor, called them over and explained to the rest of us that the middle of the three men was actually here to convert/revert to Islam.

Immediately I was excited. I'd seen recordings of declarations of faith and heard about them and have friends who've done it but in 27 years of hanging around Muslims I hadn't seen one myself! I took out my phone to make notes on the proceedings. In hindsight, the soon-to-be Muslim probably thought it was the height of rudeness for me to be texting on my phone during such a huge moment in his life. But that didn't occur to me and I wanted to remember what happened and prepared to note down extensive detail. I knew the procedure was quite straightforward but I was still surprised to see how simple it was in practice. My notes were as follows:

• State name.
• Confirm no coercion.
• Say the shahada* - repeated after imam.
• Welcome to Islam.

*This is the Islamic declaration of faith "ašhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾilla (A)llāh, wa ʾašhadu ʾanna Muḥammada(n) rasūlu (A)llāh", which means: "I testify that there is no god except Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

And just like that, in the space of 20 seconds, the man had gone from an agnostic to a Muslim, from a stranger to a brother. We all gave him a hearty hug, congratulated him and welcomed a new believer to the fold. Shortly after which, the three men took their leave and departed. And that was that. (In the fullness of time, the man will receive a Certificate Of Conversion from the mosque as "proof" but that's something to hang on the wall, not an official or necessary document.)

Amazing to experience and amazing to be a part of and something I'll not forget soon. However, it did make me think about the profound nature of declaring faith. Words are easy to say but to internalise the meaning of declaring belief in God is a whole different ballgame and something that needs serious work and effort.

After the man had declared his faith, the imam pointed out that Islam and the Qur'an took 23 years to be revealed and perfected so while he should make an effort, he shouldn't rush to make changes to his life that would be immediately burdensome. A gradual approach, one step at a time will be more productive, have far more longevity and help to make the belief more concrete and will, in the fullness of time, save his soul.

Previous article: To Brexit or not to Brexit?
The referendum announced last week by the British Prime Minister....

Next Article: Brussels

For most of today I was avoiding the details of today's explosions in Brussels...

New Year Resolutions

Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016. At the stroke of midnight tonight the bells tolled, fireworks exploded and we celebrated the passing of another year. One more year to add to the histories and by all accounts a year which some will remember with joy and some will remember with sadness. Visit any news or topical website and you'll find a 2015 review detailing some of the more prominent stories of the last twelve months.

And as we approached the end it was only natural we start to make plans for the next year - a quick glance at any social media will see it full of New Year Resolutions and plans. Plans for changes to health, wealth, relationships, time, knowledge, charity and all manner of interesting concepts and ideas are decided upon, shared, edited, deleted and shared again. Somebody wants to lose weight, someone else wants to learn a language and someone else wants to get a new job. Most resolutions that I've seen tend to be worthy goals and I hope they are achieved but for me the curiosity is how tied they are to the "momentous" passing of the year as though it's a seminal moment.

The calendar change from 2015 to 2016 is a convenient and definitive point at which to mark the beginning of an attempt for personal change but it's worth pointing out there's nothing special about the second that takes us from 23:59:59 on 31 December to 00:00:00 on 1 January. The significance that gets ascribed to the new year is brought about by our arbitrary cultural decision to mark the passing of time as we have done. Someone sometime decided that 00:00:00 would be at midnight and that 1 January would be the start of a calendar year. It could easily have been something else and in many places it is indeed something else. Many communities have their own calendars which watch time differently. The lunar calendar being a notable example used around the world. Some communities mark the passing of one day to the next based upon when the sun sets which if you think about it is a much more natural and observable way to measure the passing of time from a human point of view. The Islamic calendar year takes it starting year as the year in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) fled his home city to seek refuge in Yathrib, the Hijrah. We're actually currently mid way through the Islamic, Hebrew and Chinese calendar years.

So 1 January 2016 is the day we've chosen to work with as a society but what does that mean for our plans? Why do plans for change have to fit that template? The answer is they don't have to fit that template. If you want to make a personal change, start the change as soon as you can while your resolve is strong and your thoughts clear. Now that we're into 2016 does that mean new changes will have to wait until 2017? Of course not. Time waits for no man and changes will occur around you regardless of what time of the year it is!

Waiting to start a change until a new year begins is an unnecessary delay that can become a slippery slope of forever waiting to start. Calling a plan for change a New Year Resolution gives it a grand title that you can talk to others about but does nothing for making that change actually happen. That drive to change has to come from within yourself and it takes effort. Change for the better is rarely easy (if it was you'd have already done it) but it is always a good thing even if it can be a long, hard and thankless road that you may be terrified of walking down. But if it's a change you really want and you mean to do it then don't wait and, to quote the Nike marketing department, just do it!

Next post: A light and dark perspective
Previous post: Helping the Homeless

Like my Facebook page

Islamophobia

Islamophobia. The fear of Islam. Or as Wikipedia describes it "prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of the religion of Islam or Muslims". Sounds simple enough on the surface and quite clearly wrong but in recent years there has been an increasing level of Islamophobic activity in the UK and elsewhere. I think Muslims in the UK are actually luckier on this front than their counterparts in a number of other developed countries where religious freedoms are harder to come by. The UK has a long history of openness to new cultures and beliefs - mostly due to it's imperial past but that's a whole other story for another day.

Islamophobia comes in many forms, both hidden and blatant, and all are wrong. Whether it's the ignorant petition campaigns against halal meat or insultingly being called a terrorist by strangers when doing your grocery shopping or having your professional CV discarded because of the foreign-looking name at the top or being 'randomly' stopped at the airport for additional screening or people looking at you funny because you've got a beard/scarf and you're wearing a rucksack on the London Underground. It's all wrong and it all needs to stop. 

It's a big ask though isn't it? How on earth do you persuade the wider majority in society to arrive at a point where Islamophobia is a thing to be fiercely denounced and instantly rejected? I wrote about this previously in my post comparing modern and ancient muslims but this Friday I heard an interesting comment made by a speaker at the City Circle talk titled "Islamophobia: Embrace British Values. Erase Muslim Identity?" The point made by Dr Salman Sayyid was simply that there was once a time that racism was widely acceptable and we're now in a time where racism is widely unacceptable. You could be a racist and a person of good standing in society but over a period of many, many years and with huge amounts of effort and sacrifice the tide slowly shifted. And while racism hasn't been totally eradicated, an open racist would find it impossible to have good standing in society and this is how it should be.

The talk hosted a panel of four - two academics (Dr Chris Allen and Dr Salman Sayyid), an IHRC activist (Raza Karim) and a police officer (Asif Sadiq). The academics went first and explained some of the challenges with defining what Islamophobia is and the difficulties of measuring it as an under-reported activity. Some people confuse disagreeing with Islam as Islamophobic and this does need to be clarified. Disagreement with the religion by itself is fine - it's when it turns into incitement to discrimination and hatred that it becomes a problem. It was very intriguing and disheartening to learn that, from the recorded statistics, the majority of victims of Islamophobia are "visibly muslim" women - presumably as they are seen to be easier targets. 

Part of the prejudice is certainly fuelled by media irresponsibility - when a Muslim does something wrong that gets media attention their defining characteristic becomes their Muslim-ness even if their religion is irrelevant to the story. Every Muslim becomes a media ambassador for Islam and every action by a Muslim becomes an Islamic act even if it goes against Islamic teaching (grooming gangs in Rotherham is a prime example). Muslims are no different to any other community - we have our good apples and our bad apples with the majority falling somewhere in between. But all too often it's only the rogues that get the media coverage along with the Muslim tag and this is dangerously provocative.

The remaining speakers took a more practical approach on raising awareness of Islamophobia and how to go about pushing back against the tide.

Raza had a lot to say about the informant culture that was being insidiously propagated by the government's latest strategies to get teachers to report possible and potentially extremist views from their pupils and how Muslims and non-Muslims needed to become more active in the fight against state monitoring and social engineering. He spoke of the work that MEND are doing to encourage political participation amongst the Muslim community. He proposed disengagement from the established system to avoid giving it a veneer of legitimacy and fight from outside what he saw as an Islamophobic institution.

Asif spoke about some of the changes and education the police force had gone through as a result of the need to have a greater understanding of Islam amongst officers. Social media has a massive role to play in making people aware of what is happening and bring pressure to bear on the police to take action - citing the recent Bus Rant woman and the speed of police action to identify and arrest the culprit. He encouraged getting involved in the established system to fight, educate and change it from within to better fulfil the needs of the people both Muslim and non. 

For me, it was very curious that Raza and Asif were able to sit next to each other and have one saying get involved inside the system and the other say get involved from outside the system. I think both saw each other as possibly undermining their own efforts to bring about change and probably damaging the cause. Who's right is anyone's guess - maybe they're both right or maybe they're both wrong - only the fullness of time will tell. To be honest I don't think it matters who is right - the important take away from all this is their common message of getting involved somehow. 

It's the easiest thing in the world to do nothing and say nothing and think "it'll make no difference so what's the point?" and that it will take far too long for change to happen or have the individualist mindset of "I'm OK so it's not my business". Sitting back and doing nothing will be of no benefit to anyone and will allow those that want to sow mistrust and chaos a free rein to do as they will leading to ever more dangerous times. 

In this case we should remember the lessons from the fight against racism which has been going on in the West for over two hundred years and anti-semitism which has been going on even longer. It's not going to be quick but that doesn't mean its not worth trying to change. It takes only a few pebbles to start at avalanche so keep throwing pebbles at the mountain. There's a famous Greek proverb that fits very well here - “Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” Let's start planting our trees for our own future and beyond.

Life and Death

Warning - this post discusses difficult issues. Please stop reading if you feel too uncomfortable.

I'm going to make a bold claim: people rarely discuss death. It's something that every last person on this planet is destined to experience yet I think in modern society the concept of death and the transient nature of life has been pushed far, far down the list of topics people are comfortable discussing. Maybe it has always been so but while I have no idea if mortality has ever been a dinner-table conversation, it's certainly true that in times gone by death was a much more regular event and much more a part of people's everyday lives.

As an example, churches were once the centre of the community - the place where everybody visited on a regular basis. If you ever visit an old church you'll find a graveyard adjacent to it in a prime location - often having to walk past it to enter the church. Nowadays graveyards have been relocated to out of town sites - out of sight and out of mind. Medicine and agricultural advancements have also contributed to leave death at the fringes of our existence and it has become so easy to forget that life is not forever despite a complete subconscious awareness that it is. 

Today I went to a talk titled "Coping with Death, Dealing with Grief" held by The City Circle. A little bit of a sombre title but the essence of the topic was the Islamic perspective on dealing with grief. The speaker (Shaykh Yunus Dudhwala) was very credible and well qualified to discuss the issue as the Head of Chaplaincy and Bereavement Services at Barts Health NHS Trust. 

To react to death and to grieve is perfectly natural and human and no one should be ashamed of such. Grief and bereavement show the depth of the bond between the departed and those left behind and comes from a compassionate and merciful place and this should not be forgotten. Different people do react differently to the death of someone close to them - their cultural and religious background affects their reaction as does their own belief of what death is. If they believe in life after death then that leads to a different view to someone who believe death is final. 

Islamic theology and practice is heavily rooted in the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and one of the early points made was that the Prophet (pbuh) experienced the loss of relatives of every relationship: father, mother, grandparents, wife, uncles, sons, daughters and friends. The example is there for every situation and always he counselled and practiced patience and forbearance. The speaker shared a number of traditions describing the Prophet's instructions and comments to people suffering through grief. He encouraged compassion that allows for the release of grief. Crying and sadness are perfectly natural reactions and should not be discouraged - to feel is to be human and we are but human. Do not be too quick to judge the level of others' grief - some are stoic, others are more emotional. To each their own way of dealing with it and the best thing you can do is to support them and be there for them. That said though, some level of self-control is required in Islam - grief is personal and does not need to be announced to the world. Wailing, smashing things, screaming - all of these are not allowed. 

At the heart of it is the concept of patience and the famous verse "Allah is with those who are patient". Demonstrating patience and exercising self control at the time when feelings are most raw and you are at your most vulnerable is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement. Incredibly hard to do  when anger, frustration, sadness and wishfulness are all assaulting your mind. 

This is where the second major point comes into play. Islam teaches that there is life after death and whenever a Muslim hears of a death he/she is encouraged to say "To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return". A short phrase that has a superbly powerful and profound meaning. It's a reminder that our lives and the lives of our friends and the lives of our family and the lives of every single person who walks the earth are only ever on temporary loan and that the loan will eventually have to be paid back. It teaches the awareness that the time is appointed for everyone and cannot be avoided. There are no premature deaths in Islam. People may die young but not early as it was ever written thus.

So with this awareness what does it mean for us? To me, the blessing in all this is that the length of the loan is unknown to us. That death can come at any time can be either a cause for lethargy or a spur for activity. It's the difference between "If I don't know if I'll get to finish an endeavour why should should I bother to start it?" and "If I don't know I'll get to finish an endeavour I had better make sure I do as much as I can!". The latter is a much more positive view and should be the default stance for everybody. Think on death and your own mortality but let it drive you to achieve, build, maintain your relationships, be productive and generally do what is worthwhile in life.

P.S. Here's an interesting folktale on the impermanent nature of life.