The situation in Palestine has been a knife in the heart of the Ummah for many decades now. Often, it is easy for us to lose sight of where and how we reached a state such as this - where a small group that is 1% the size of the Muslim world is able to treat us in this manner.

In any major industry (business, medicine, aviation etc...) whenever there is a major catastrophe it is followed by a thorough root cause analysis and systemic review. This is to not only make sure that lessons are learnt from the incidence, but also makes it less likely to occur again.

Here at the Unity Blog, we are going to undertake just such a thorough review of the situation in Palestine and see what lessons can be taken from our history and what that means for our future. Join us and chip in with any advice and input that you may have - maybe even send in a submission.

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It has been a few days now since the massacre on the flotilla took place. By now, we are all well aware of the terrible way ordinary people trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza were harassed, injured and even killed by "the Middle Easts only democracy." However, there are some interesting lessons to be taken from the aftermath of this tragic event.

Actions speak louder than words. Despite the hundreds and thousands that have demonstrated, written letters and signed petitions about helping the people in Gaza - it was the small group of people willing to get on a boat and actively do something about it that succeeded where many of us have failed.

In the world of international relations, there are no permanent friends. Turkey had snubbed the Muslim world for so long (despite the historic and faith ties between them) and decided to ally itself with Israel. Yet, despite the Ottomans saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Spanish inquisition, despite the Turkish Government being one of the first countries to recognise Israel, despite all the tourist and trade links that the two nations have - Israel will not even deign to apologise for killing Turkish citizens who simply wanted to bring humanitarian aid to the oppressed of Gaza. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

There are a lot of Muslims who feel very strongly about the Palestine situation. When I say, very strongly, I mean that it dominates their Islamic discourse. Even Muslims who are not very practising feel very strongly about the injustice taking place. While it is beautiful that they have such a strong connection to their fellow Muslims, we need to remember that Islam is more than the struggle between the Palestinians and the forces of Zionism. By saying this, we do not denigrate the struggle but elevate it to a new plane. One where the problem is not localised to one nation, but is part of a systemic failure within the Muslim nation.

We need the letter writers, we need the protesters, we need the petitioners, we need those sending aid - but what we need more than anything else is the unity of Muslims upon Islam. And when I say unity, I mean the kind of unity that forged a nation - a nation that was able to stand up to oppressors and to protect the weak. That is the solution to everything - from the problems of Gaza to global warming.

Just my 2 pence, but I'd be interested to hear yours.

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Allah swt asks us to reflect upon his creation in the Quran:

Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. (3:190 – Yusuf Ali translation)

Within the nerve fibres that run throughout our bodies there are very tiny little proteins called kinesins that, quite amazingly, walk along the nerve fibre. For every single step they take, they swing one of their legs around in front of the other leg, using just one single energy molecule each time. You can see in the video below exactly how they do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL99pwdvmhU&feature=related

These proteins don’t just go walkies for fun; as you may have noticed in the video above, they carry cargo that are very important for the functioning of our bodies. These walking proteins are so important that without them we would die.

But notice: although kinesins can carry cargo from one end of the nerve fibre to the other, they can not take it close enough to the very end of the nerve fibre such that the nerve fibre could then secrete whatever is being carried. Unlike kinesins, myosins, another type of walking protein, can carry cargo right to the very end of the nerve fibre. And guess what? Allah swt has made it such that kinesins pass on their cargo to myosins when they come close to the end of the nerve fibre, and myosins then do their bit and take the cargo to the very end of the fibre for secretion; these tiny little proteins that we can’t even see with our naked eyes work together to be able to perform a very important function.

It makes you wonder how well Muslims could function if we too worked together. Maybe it is about time Muslims of one kind realised that it would be helpful to be united with Muslims of another kind? Just as there are salafis, sufis, deobandies, etc, there are kinesins, dyneins, and myosins. And just as there are super salafis and moderate salafis, there are N-Kinesins, M-Kinesins, and C-Kinesins...

 Reference:

 Xeunong Bo. Axonal Transport [lecture]. Insitute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and the London Medical School; 02/11/2009.

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Watch this video of an artist doing something pretty amazing with the Adhaan and some famous church spires in Switzerland. I won't spoil it for you but the results are awesome!

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The start of summer seems to be upon us. When the heat wave hits we all like to sit back and get cool with a nice glass of cola or perhaps some Ice cream. Interestingly enough, it was the Muslims who led the way not only in science and maths but this frozen delight as well.

From wikipedia:

"Ice cream was the favorite dessert for the Caliphs of Baghdad. Arabs were the first to utilise milk as a major ingredient in its production, sweeten the ice cream with sugar rather than fruit juices, as well as perfect ways for its commercial production. As early as the 10th century, ice cream was widespread amongst many of the Arab world's major cities such as Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo. Their version of ice cream was produced from milk or cream and often some yoghurt..."

So the next time someone confronts you with a bigoted statement about Islam or Muslims, maybe you should ask them to explain how the invention of Ice Cream fits into our so-called violent and intolerant plan for world domination.

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Islamic talks are far too often boring and scripted. The reader is so formal that you lose out on the passion and the easy flowing that makes some of the best speeches. Every once in a while a speaker tells you a story, a personal story that is amazing and uplifting and inspirational. In the past, unless you were lucky enough to be in that precise location at that precise time you would never have heard it. Today, you can listen to it from the comfort of your own home.

Here is the amazing story by Sheikh Muhammad Al Shaharani of Jeddah about a Muslim youth you will scarcely believe really existed...

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The X-box and the Wii are now intrinsic part of our lives. Brothers (it is almost always brothers) spend so much time on them that it now becomes strange to meet a brother who is not into it. Yet, there is a flip side to these entertainment consoles that is not often talked about. Listen to the short talk by Kamal El Makki to find out more...

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A lively and entertaining short talk on the importance of words. This is especially useful for the brothers out there who are not more careful when they swear.

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For those who know Frankie Boyle, they know he does not pull any punches in his jokes. He has got in hot water for his total lack of political correctness more times than I'm sure he cares to remember. However, the latest episode took on a serious tone when he decided to fight back against the BBC Trust for apologising due to a joke he made at the expense of the state of Israel.

Perhaps the "joke" hit a bit too close to home.

Here is the full text of his candid and withering response:

"Obviously, it feels strange to be on the moral high ground but I feel a response is required to the BBC Trust’s cowardly rebuke of my jokes about Palestine.

As always, I heard nothing from the BBC but read in a newspaper that editorial procedures would be tightened further to stop jokes with anything at all to say getting past the censors.

In case you missed it, the jokes in question are: ‘I’ve been studying Israeli Army Martial Arts. I now know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back. People think that the Middle East is very complex but I have an analogy that sums it up quite well. If you imagine that Palestine is a big cake, well…that cake is being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew.’

I think the problem here is that the show’s producers will have thought that Israel, an aggressive, terrorist state with a nuclear arsenal was an appropriate target for satire. The Trust’s ruling is essentially a note from their line managers. It says that if you imagine that a state busily going about the destruction of an entire people is fair game, you are mistaken. Israel is out of bounds.

The BBC refused to broadcast a humanitarian appeal in 2009 to help residents of Gaza rebuild their homes. It’s tragic for such a great institution but it is now cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well drilled lobbying.

I told the jokes on a Radio 4 show called Political Animal. That title seems to promise provocative comedy with a point of view. In practice the BBC wish to deliver the flavour of political comedy with none of the content. The most recent offering I saw was BBC Two’s The Bubble. It looked exactly like a show where funny people sat around and did jokes about the news. Except the thrust of the format was that nobody had read the papers. I can only imagine how the head of the BBC Trust must have looked watching that, grinning like Gordon Brown having his prostrate examined.

The situation in Palestine seems to be, in essence, apartheid. I grew up with the anti apartheid thing being a huge focus of debate. It really seemed to matter to everybody that other human beings were being treated in that way. We didn’t just talk about it, we did things, I remember boycotts and marches and demos all being held because we couldn’t bear that people were being treated like that.

A few years ago I watched a documentary about life in Palestine. There’s a section where a UN dignitary of some kind comes to do a photo opportunity outside a new hospital. The staff know that it communicates nothing of the real desperation of their position, so they trick her into a side ward on her way out. She ends up in a room with a child who the doctors explain is in a critical condition because they don’t have the supplies to keep treating him. She flounders, awkwardly caught in the bleak reality of the room, mouthing platitudes over a dying boy.

The filmmaker asks one of the doctors what they think the stunt will have achieved. He is suddenly angry, perhaps having just felt at first hand something he knew in the abstract. The indifference of the world. ‘She will do nothing,’ he says to the filmmaker. Then he looks into the camera and says, ‘Neither will you’.

I cried at that and promised myself that I would do something. Other than write a few stupid jokes I have not done anything. Neither have you.

Frankie Boyle"

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Whilst people three times her age are busy doing nothing at all for the Muslim Ummah, Alya Nuri is on a one girl mission to make a difference. She has written not one, but three books talking about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and smoking for kids. Watch the video of her being interviewed on Fox News...

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