The personal details of Muslim students who registered in the UCL or RUMS Islamic Societies over the last 5 years have been given to intelligence services including the CIA. In an article on the frontpage of todays Independent newspaper, it has been revealed that after the Islamic Society declined to give out this information, the Student Union betrayed its Muslim students in the worst possible way and gave their names and email addresses (without prior consent) to intelligence services.

Despite multiple condemnations of the acts of Umar Farouk AbdulMuttalab and the Islamic Society completely disassociating itself from his actions, this was not deemed enough. It seems that the Muslim students en masse, need to be monitored and kept an eye on. What is unacceptable is that the Student Union could be so flippant about exposing all Muslim students who trusted it with their details to being put on watch lists and monitored without any evidence against them.

They did this with no consideration on the knock on impact this will have on the lives of these students. Had it not been that FOSIS discovered the betrayal, the Student Union would not have even informed the Muslim students of what happened or why they were suddenly getting visits at their homes or having their emails/ telephone conversations bugged.

To read the full article in The Independent please click on the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/ye5vpk7

If you would like to comment on the actions of the Student Union then please email the General Manager of the Union:

d.squires@ucl.ac.uk

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Muslims have traditionally been under-represented on the internet with very few Blogs and websites dealing with issues pertinent to Muslims despite having a population of over 1.2 Billion worldwide.

A government study showed that fewer than 150 active Islamic Bloggers existed and most of these dealt with purely personal issues hardly ever moving beyond the self-centred narrative typical of online diaries. However, over the last few weeks even this meagre presence has been reduced. A number of prominent Muslim bloggers have announced their retirement for various reasons.

To top it all off, Islamonline, one of the worlds most visited and well respected websites for Islamic news and views has had the plug pulled... literally. A change of directors in the parent company in Qatar has led to the entire Egyptian staff of over 350 being fired and the website becoming defunct.

It seems that our real world problems are being replayed online now and the middle ground is being left to the fringe elements to talk about Islam. Once more, Muslims find themselves disunited and directionless... Sigh.

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Here at ULU ISoc we believe strongly that Islamic work should not become a burden on the studies of Muslim students. Therefore, during the months of April and May we reduce our activities to let ULU ISocers concentrate on passing exams and submitting essays by deadlines.

Call it study leave or hibernation, for the next few weeks things may be quiet but The Unity Blog will continue to be active and publish as will ISocNews...

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In the past few weeks, two Muslim women were "randomly" chosen to go through the new full body scanners installed at British airports. When they refused to do so they were prevented from being able to fly to Pakistan. In the last few days, an airport worker has been arrested for ogling a female colleague who went through one of these scanners.

The full body scanners are an affront to Islamic modesty. In a society where many people are comfortable with showing more and more skin, they see nothing wrong with this latest infringement on personal dignity - yet as the Fiqh Council of North America put it, it violates totally Islamic values on modesty and privacy.

A petition has been started on the Downing Street Website to allow alternatives to the body scanners such as in the U.S. where you can choose to be "frisked" by security guards instead. If you agree then click on the following link and put your name down:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Body-Scans/

Currently there are more people petitioning to ban dog washing machines (?) and cord blinds! So, start emailing this post around and get everyone and their mothers to log on and SIGN UP! Comment here to encourage others to do so as well.

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There are many wonderful vistas in the world that one could stare at for hours on end, mesmerised by the splendour and the beauty. Yet few views in the world hold the kind of significance and have seen the scenes that the one below has.

It was this view that the Prophet (SAW) used to look out on whilst he contemplated deeply over spiritual matters during the time before his Prophethood. For days on end he would sit by himself in the cave of Hira, until one day in the last few days of Ramadan he was embraced by Jibreel (A) and ordered to "Read."

The story is well known to all of us, but it is still nice to look at the location where the archangel brought the first words of the Quran to the last Prophet, the start of the end of the final message to mankind.

    Jabal Noor (Mountain of Light)                                    The Cave of Hira

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5. www.Quran.net

This website has a few of the basic features common to the others, but where it really stands out is the quality and quantity of brilliant articles regarding the Quran. With commentary from scholars of the past as well as the present, it is well worth a visit.

4. www.Tanzil.info

This website has handy features you'd come to expect in a Quranic website like translation and commentary. It also gives you the option of having the highlighted ayahs recited by a range of reciters.

3. www.QuranFlash.com

The most fun website by far. It has multiple mushafs scanned in high quality and makes the reading experience as realistic and pleasurable as possible. It has over 10,000 visits daily. The virtual Quran shelf is simply inspired genius. Bookmark this!

2. www.QuranExplorer.com

With over 8 Million visitors from across the world  in the last 4 years, this website must surely be doing something right. The clean crisp layout and the simplicty of use make this a brilliant website.

1. www.Quran.com

This is almost the google of Quranic websites. It is extremely minimalistic as a website, but this widens the appeal. The toolbars on the left of the screen allow you to toggle on/off various features like different commentaries and even a whole host of languages. Number 1 without a shadow of a doubt.

Agree, disagree? Have your own favourite Quranic website? Then comment on it here & share the information as well as the ajar!

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Just a few years after the death of the Prophet (SAW) the Caliph Uthman (R) set up a committee of famous sahaaba to compile all the various skins and bones with verses from the Quran written on them and compare them to the memorisation of the hundreds of Companions who had memorised the Quran directly. This was also compared to the master copy kept with Hafsa (Ra) - one of the Prophet (SAW)'s wives.

The result was 5 master copies were created and sent to the 4 corners of the Islamic Empire with one being kept in Medina with Uthman (R) himself. Today these precious earliest copies of the Quran are kept in the Hast Imam Mosque of Tashkent, the Imam Hussein Mosque in Cairo and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Interestingly, Uthman (R) was assassinated while reading his copy of the Quran (claimed to be the one in Topkapi Palace.) His blood fell on the parchment covering the Ayahs "... and do not spill the blood of the believers."

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3 year old Fareh Abdur Rahman from Algeria is no ordinary child. While the kids his age are still mastering the art of walking and trying to string together sentences with any meaning he is busy reciting the Quran. In numerous appearances he has shown a precocious ability that is as impressive as it is cute. May Allah bless his mother and father who taught him the best of speech. Enjoy...

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This story is of a little girl named Bar`ah who is 10 years old, her parents were doctors who moved to Saudi Arabia in search of better life. At this age, Bar`ah memorized the whole Quran with tajweed. She suffers with Brain Cancer. See how the Sheikh is unable to stop crying as she recites from the heart. As long as parents give birth to children such as her, there is hope for our Ummah yet - inshaAllah.

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Here at ULU ISoc, we want to take time out to reflect on the Quran. For far too long Muslims have used the Quran more as a talisman and less as a Users Guide to life. So for the next week, the Unity Blog will be bringing you interesting and sensational posts all about the last testament to humanity, the greatest miracle, the final revelation of God -

The Quran

Don't Forget the Quran

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