So the elections are all said and done. As the dust settles on the political landscape and the bargaining begins in Westminster. Some Muslim organisations have been tirelessly running a campaign to try and oust overtly Zionist MPs only to have Muslims vote in most of the same people like Khalid Mehmood despite knowing full well their shameful voting record. The perennial also-rans (Ajmal Masroor, Salma Yaqoob etc...) remain in 2nd place with no power. The BNP made limited gains as did UKIP, but not enough to justify the fear-mongering that pervaded the campaign in the last few weeks.

Malcolm X spoke about this issue in relation to "the black vote" and African-Americans. It makes for sobering listening:

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The Election is just hours away and the Muslims are still arguing over whether it is Halaal to take part or not. ISocNews discusses the issues in a series of hard hitting articles tackling a different point of view. Check it out!

Click on the poster to go to isocnews.com

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Many of us worry what others would think when we have a beard. Will they think we are unkempt or ugly? Will they believe that we are backward or violent? We worry about whether women will no longer think we are handsome or what our parents will say. We also fret about the effect it will have in the workplace.

In view of the above, I found it interesting that quite a few of the Ottoman Caliphs did not have a beard before they began their rule as Caliph and Sultan but as soon as they ascended to the throne they grew their beard. They did not feel it was acceptable that the leader of the Muslim world not follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW.)

SubhanAllah, if the ruler of a vast Empire felt compelled to grow his beard out of fear of Allah and love of the Prophet (SAW) sunnah then who are we to feel uncomfortable?!

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent

Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan II

Sultan Mehmed Vahideddin VI

Caliph Abdul Majeed II

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Following on from the last hard hitting post where a Muslim girl complains that many of the young men of this ummah are too busy styling their hair and perfecting their marriage portrait poses - we decided it is time to focus on that often talked about Muslim man symbol... the beard.

Yes, as beardos will know, there is a kind of instant connection that is hard to explain to those not on this side of the hirsute border. It is not just that we look alike or all make a substantial saving on buying razors and shaving gel, it is also that seeing another brother with a beard is reassuring. And I don't mean reassuring in a "do you have a beard trimmer handy" kind of way.

For a starter you know instantly this person is a Muslim and one that is not willing to hide the fact. In many ways wearing a beard is like the male version of the Hijab. The person doing so has chosen a path to follow the sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) no matter how unpopular. He has rejected the Western version of being handsome. Although he may not be perfect, but wearing the beard signals him out as a (at least) visual ambassador for Islam and therefore he becomes more mindful of his behaviour in public. Possibly the hardest thing is that in the prime of his youth he has turned his back on appearing attractive to the majority of women and decided that he would prefer to look handsome like our beloved Prophet (SAW) and not like Justin Timberlake.

Yes, beardos have problems. Sometimes it may inadvertently make them feel "superior" to better Muslims who do not keep a beard. They are also kept in extreme conditions from the extremely manicured Craig David style to the unkempt ZZ top style, neither of which fit into the sunnah style exactly. Still, at the end of the day, as short cuts go nothing says "Muslim and proud to follow the sunnah" quite like the beard so grow yours today!

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"Oh dear God, not another irritating poem!" I hear you say. I understand your frustration, but this poem is actually quite interesting as it pulls no punches regarding the current state of many Muslim men - as exemplified by the "cool" Pakistani Popstar below. The poem is by a sister called Aisha who is only 13 years old.

Dear Sheikh I am a young girl religiously committed
And I need to know if this is permitted
I live in a place & time
Where men are hard to find
So Dear Sheikh can I marry a Woman?

The Suitors that call are a disgrace,
Like Women with a clean shaven face
Their sisters walk out showing their hair
And the lady boys don’t even care

The proposals come
One by one,
But to sum it up, their all the same,
So called ’Lions’ without manes

We are attacked, abused and raped,
But the ‘men’ just look for a quick escape
They simply ignore our plight
For our honour they refuse to fight
So Dear Sheikh can I marry a Woman?

They trail their clothes like the dresses of brides
Advertising their womanly pride
The global ummah is in despair
But the lady boys don’t seem to care
So Dear Sheikh can I marry a Woman.

So Dear Sheikh can I marry these Women?

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When KFC announced that soe of their branches would be going Halaal, many Muslim men (it is almost always men) felt elated. At last they would have a chance to sink their teeth into KFC chickens rather than the slighty rubbery, greasy pseudo-chickens from Perfect Lahore Fried Chicken. But before they had a chance to satisfy their desires, it wa announced that the KFC chicken was not actually Halaal.

Whilst many people stayed away, a few still stubbornly held on to the dream. That dream has been shattered finally by the Lancashire Council of Mosques who actually took the unprecdented step of sitting down with KFC to discuss the matter. The full text of the letter they sent is below.

It says a lot about Muslims that we cannot even agree on a semi-common definition of what Halaal is and that you could probably find someone to certify Pork as Halaal if you look hard enough. It says even more about us that the things that really work us up into a tizzy is not the fact that the Ummah is falling to bits around us, but that KFC may be Halaal or not.

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The article below was taken from the "comment is free" section of the Guardian website.

Muslim groups on campus radicalise members by inspiring civic and political participation, not by breeding extremism

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The following is a message from FOSIS regarding the recent NUS (National Union of Students) conference in which they managed to elect a Muslim to the position of VP at the NUS. However, away from the hoopla and the voting, a fringe meeting was taking place between FOSIS and the UJS (Union of Jewish Students) which was chaired by the President of the NUS - Wes Streeting.

According to FOSIS, the debate was supposed to be about freedom of expression on campus however the UJS continually veered off topic and used the opportunity to attack ISocss, speakers that deliver lectures to ISocs etc...

As a response to this, the President of FOSIS has written an article which you can read by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on all this?

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interesting article on the BBC website about conjoined twins in a village in Cameroon having had surgery performed in Saudi Arabia. After the surgery, the parents reverted to Islam. On hearing this good news, funds were made available to open an Islamic primary school and the ripple effects have been slowly moving out.

A teacher who used to spend his time drinking alcohol excessively and had multiple girlfriends has converted and now wants to settle down and get married. In fact, some are saying that many in the whole village are considering becoming Muslim.

Click here to read the whole interesting article.

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