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Articles, Page 9

On British Muslims & Racism: Do Black Lives Matter?

By Abu Aaliyah

“Racism affects all people of colour. But when it comes to black people, they face a unique anti-black prejudice as the ultimate Other, propagated both by white majorities and even other ethnic minorities. As a marginalised community South Asians, no doubt, have their own prejudices thrown their way. But they are not the same lived experiences as that of Black people. And while it can be easy to lump everyone together and perceive ourselves as having a shared trauma, statistics show that this equivalence is not really true…”

“I can’t breathe!”

By Dr Uthman Lateef

“The killing of George Floyd on May 25th 2020 tugged at our collective conscience. With every waning breath and dying plea ‘I can’t breathe’ screamed in its silence and we gasped together. The coalescing of brutal indifference of state power with a forlorn plea for mercy, for understanding, for pity, for empathy, placed us all in an unavoidable frame of witnessing…”

When Islam came to Australia

By Janak Rogers, BBC News magazine

“Few Australians are aware that the country’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had regular contact with foreign Muslims long before the arrival of Christian colonisers. And Islam continues to exercise an appeal for some Aboriginal peoples today…”

Coronavirus is highlighting the rift in Islam

By Lawrence Pintak
“From the Grand Mosque in Mecca to Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque, Muslim leaders around the world have taken the unprecedented step of cancelling Friday prayers and ordering their followers to pray at home. But a sub-set of literalists in the UK, continental Europe and across the developing world have pushed back…”

The soul of Islam is a vigilant and mindful heart

By Abu Aaliyah
“Revelation tells us that muraqabah, vigilance of Allah, is one of the sublimest spiritual stations. We are told too that habituating our heart to such vigilance requires training the heart gradually and step-by-step. Masters of the heart instruct us to accustom ourselves to being mindful and shy of Allah, even if it be for short periods at a time – persevering in this even in our day-to-day affairs, let alone when engaged in acts of worship – until such mindfulness or vigilance becomes part and parcel of our nature; a habit of our heart..”

Muslim nations consider gold and  barter trade to beat sanctions

By Liz Lee

Reuters, 21 December 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday.

At the end of an Islamic summit in Malaysia, Mahathir praised Iran and Qatar for withstanding economic embargoes and said it was important for the Muslim world to be self-reliant to face future threats…”

Sacred tranquillity in our age of distress and anxiety

By Abu Aaliyah
“For a Muslim, the Qur’an is a powerful shifa’, or healing: And We reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers. [Q.17:82] And whilst the primary healing of the Qur’an is in curing the intellectual doubts, falsehoods or half truths concerning God, humanity’s true purpose, life’s essential meaning, and our ultimate end; and in providing humanity with a practical and liveable morality suitable for all times or places,..”

You are exactly where Allah wants you to be

By Alveena Salim (published in The Muslim Vibe 8 September 2019)
By all means plan. Dream. Hope. Wish for the Best. But put your trust in the One that knows you better than you know yourself.