Blog entries posted in Unity Blog

Ramadan Lessons: Power and Destiny of Lailatul Qadr

Administrator — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:58:24 +0100

We are now firmly in the last ten nights of Ramadan with the days and nights of Ramadan slipping by like the grains of sand in an hourglass. Everyone chooses to mark these last ten nights in slightly different ways. Some spend the night in Qiyaam, others read more Quran and still others reflect and ponder over the meaning of life in the seclusion of Itikaaf.

WhicRead More...

Ramadan Lessons: Reconnecting with the Quran

Administrator — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:41:01 +0100

Ramadan is often the called "the month of the Quran." It seems strange to assign a month to a book that is supposed to govern our every waking and sleeping moment - regardless what time of the year. Why specify one month over and above the others?

Partially, it can be down to historical fact. This is the month in which the Quran was sent down to humanity. A sRead More...

Ramadan Lessons: Organising your diary

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:01:54 +0100

An ordinary person has to juggle various facets of their life - work, family and play. This is hard to do and people often feel swamped. The Muslim has an added feature to the mix - Islam. Now, I know that Islam encompasses all aspects of life including work, family and play - however time still needs to be made for activities such as prayer, reading the QRead More...

Ramadan Lessons: Fasting but not furious

Administrator — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:40:46 +0100

A funny T-shirt was made recently putting a spin on a rubbish movie franchise - the tag said "Fasting but not furious." Indeed controlling our anger is something that we are encouraged to do in Islam. This doesn't mean that Muslims should not get angry - on the contrary it would be terrible to not get angry at injustice or if you see something patently wrong goinRead More...

Ramadan Lessons: Empathasing with the hungry

Administrator — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:53:43 +0100

We often feel sorry for those who are less well off than us only when they come into our narrow field of vision. Even then, all it takes is the flick of a switch and the "problem" goes away. Some of us get a little bit outside our comfort zone by donating some of our hard earned money towards alleviating their suffering. Very few go beyond that.

But Ramadan is one of those times when you can gRead More...

Ramadan Karim!

Administrator — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:49:15 +0100

May Allah make this Ramadan one of many more to come. Ameen.

August 2010 Issue of ISocNews out now!

Administrator — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:05:58 +0100

Don't miss out on the latest issue of ISocNews packed with a host of articles to help give you that pre-Ramadan boost. Click on the poster to go there...

The Pakistan Floods: This is the cost of disunity

Administrator — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:34:02 +0100

Look at this picture below and know that this is not just a heart wrenching picture of a family struggling to avoid drowning. This is not just the picture of a father worried that his family may perish before his eyes. This is not just a disaster. This is the price of disunity.

Disunity did not cause the flood, although some believe that divine retribution is at hand for the way that the Ummah has gone waywarRead More...

Don't waste your time this summer!

Administrator — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:11:27 +0100

So many of us are now deep into our summer holidays. Having worked hard (ahem, ahem) and revised for our exams, we all deserve a bit of a break. Yes, sipping from the mango lassi whilst hanging from a hammock in the back garden and reading the latest issue of "Where's Waldo" can seem like the pay off for working hard for weeks on end. But there is another way,Read More...

Businessman offers to pay all Burka fines

Administrator — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:52:25 +0100

A French-Algerian businessman has offered to pay the fines of all the women who wear Burka in France. Infuriated by what he sees as the Islamophobic attitude of the French political elite towards a minority of Muslim women simply for wearing the Burka - Rachid Nekkaz has launched a campaign fund to which he has already personally donated 1 Million EurRead More...

Bikini or headscarf - which offers more freedom?

Administrator — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:16:53 +0100

The latest issue of the Oprah magazine had a very interesting article by a mother about her daughters rejection of Western attire in favour of Muslim dress. In a day and age when Governments and rights groups are doing their best to criminalize the way a Muslim woman covers herself, it is nice to see that the negative advertising still hasn't deterred a determRead More...

They value our history more than we do...

Administrator — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:30:07 +0100

Ayub Bin Suleiman Diallo grew up in a rich family of scholars in the Senegal-Gambia region of West Africa. Unfortunately, a rival tribe attacked his family and he was captured and sold into slavery. He ended up in England but after a failed escape attempt, the English were very impressed with his knowledge.

Ayub was able to write out the entire Quran from memory and always displayed the besRead More...

Liberte, Egalite, l'islamophobie

Administrator — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:52:43 +0100

Yes, after our series on the Niqab Wars the issue is in the news again because of the preoccupation of the "enlightened West" with the right of a Muslim woman to wear Burka if she wants to. You would think with the most serious financial crisis in nearly a century threatening to collapse their economies, at least two quagmire type wars half way across the world and the current state of the EnvironmRead More...

July Issue of ISocNews out now!

Administrator — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:24:31 +0100

The latest July issue of ISocNews is out now. Click on the image to start enjoying it...

England out of the World Cup - reflections of a Muslim used to defeat

Administrator — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:53:43 +0100

Yes, what we knew would happen even before a ball was kicked in South Africa has come to pass. The woeful England team has finally ended their misery and gone back to their overpaid day jobs in the Premier League whilst serious teams are left to fight for glory. England fans will be used to this by now. They know the crushing sense of depression that comes with a humiliatiRead More...

Now Bilal Phillips sent back to Qatar

Administrator — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:25:12 +0100

The latest scholar to be bounced out of the UK is Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips. As anyone who attends his talks will know, he's hardly someone you can call "extreme" in any sense of the word. As befits his academic background, this former school teacher is more intellectual than radical. Yet, here he was at the airport being put on the next flight back to Doha.

WitRead More...

The Hypocrisy of banning Zakir Naik

Administrator — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:50:53 +0100

A hate filled bigot who condemns an entire population as backward and is beyond borderline racist comes to the UK and gets to give a speech in the House of Lords. A Medical Doctor turned preacher who spends the absolute majority of his time promoting interfaith dialogue Read More...

Where is our De Gaulle?

Administrator — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:15:54 +0100

A few days ago was the 70th anniversary of an important event in French history. The French had just been defeated by the Germans in World War II and Nazi tanks rolled into Paris up the famous Champs Elysees. The French Government led by Marshal Petain officially accepted the control of Hitler. The proud nation of France, with a long and distinguished history was now gone from the pagesRead More...

Exam season: United we pass, divided we fail

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:11:40 +0100

If you are studying hard for exams then may Allah give you barakah in your time and the ability to retain knowledge swiftly and easily. Almost all Muslim students will be working hard around this time trying to pass this final hurdle of the academic year.

So what has Unity got to do with the blood, sweat and tears of revision time? Nowadays, studying is almost always considered an individuaRead More...

The World Cup 2010 - What if we were united?

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:50:36 +0100

The TV is ready, the remote is located, the Pepsi chilled, the Doritos dipped and the phone off the hook. Whether you are a shepherd in Mongolia or a business in Madrid - you cannot fail to be excited (or annoyed) by the World Cup starting in South Africa.

This year Algeria is the lone Muslim nation taking part in the World Cup. In years gone past countries such aRead More...