A meeting here in Norwich recently reminded me of how much we have to be grateful for in this little island nation. A South American visitor told me of how in her society to be stopped by a policeman for a traffic offence necessarily means to be asked for a bribe. When she came to …
Category Archives: Blogroll
A Little Immodesty – Abdassamad Clarke
Sometimes a man must cast modesty and humility aside and stand forth. My turn has come. In the late 80s I was calling for the abandonment of paper money and a return to gold and silver. It was published and it is there in black and white for anyone to read. Now the whole world, …
The Game is Up – Uthman Ibrahim-Morrison and Abdassamad Clarke
“I’m a Muslim and I believe in Divine fate and destiny, and it was his destiny and his fate… and now he’s gone… and may Allah forgive him and bless him… that’s all I have to say…” Tariq Jahan (bereaved father) Three young Muslims in Birmingham who had left their neighbourhood mosque in the month …
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The Lie and Public Discourse – Abdassamad Clarke
Confucius, when asked about the first act of government, said: “Call things by their right names”. There is something genuinely mysterious about this language we use, we human beings, which must be considered before embarking on the use of it and before using it to tackle the largest purveyors of language and their doings in …
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A Gathering of ‘Ulama Discuss the Zakat, the Dinar of Islam, markets and the Awqaf
“There is no disagreement about what you say…” At the 4th Muslim Lawyers’ Conference in Potsdam 29th June – 1st July 2001, a group of ‘ulama and imams assembled to discuss the zakat and related matters. The names of those present are appended below the statement issued after the gathering. To open the meeting, Hajj …
Mafhum al-Mukhalafah – Contrary Understandings
Since we know: “that Allah should guide one person to Himself by means of you is better for you than everything over which the sun rises”, what can we say about the situation of someone by means of whom Allah prevents access to Himself?
The Debt of az-Zubayr
202. Abu Khubayb – with a u on the kha’ – ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam al-Qurashi al-Asadi, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, “When az-Zubayr stood awaiting the Battle of the Camel, he called me over and I went to his side. He said, ‘Son, no one will be killed today except …
Heinmot Tooyalaket (Chief Joseph) of the Nez Percés
“The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it was … The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it is no man’s business to divide it… I see the whites all over the country gaining wealth, and see their desire to give us lands which …
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Heisenberg on Einstein
Heisenberg, in writing about Einstein, said, “In his earlier physics, Einstein could always set out from the idea of an objective world subsisting in space and time, which we, as physicists, observe only from the outside, as it were. The laws of nature determine its course. In quantum theory this idealization was no longer possible.” …
Bully for You!
bully noun ( pl. -lies) a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. The figure of the bully springs to mind, writ large and wreaking infinitely more devastation than the casual sadism of the school bully, but in essence the same. What is the point of having all …