Stay ConnectedThis podcast is dedicated to exploring issues in some more depth and untangling the complexities of the world around us. We engage thinkers, academics, and scholars in conversation on a number of themes to appreciate the ideas that make up Islam as a system of thought.Follow us on https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/And twitter @thinking_muslim https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimEmail info@thinkingmuslim.com
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Copyright: © Muhammad Jalal 693942
The Abandon Harris campaign has been making waves across the US. It has galvanised largely Muslim and conscientious Americans so build a coalition together to resist the genocidal administration through the ballot box. They have a lot of detractors, paid democratic people ready to defame them. But my guest today is relentless.
Hassan Abdel Salam is one of two founders of the Abandon Harris movement. He is also the Executive Director of the Civil Rights Alliance for America, which is the organization that is organizing and coordinating the Abandon Harris movement. Hassan Abdel Salam has been a professor of strategy, movements, and human rights, for 12 years.
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Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:30 – His movements
5:54 – The Greens
9:13 – Is this realistic ?
18:40 – A return to Democrats
23:32 – Trump
28:20 – Are you winning?
35:51 – Is the appeal just Muslim?
43:44 – Speaking truth
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I know that not all Americans value what I have to say on the US elections. However, I do receive many emails and messages daily asking for advice, and my podcast, The Thinking Muslim, has been fairly instrumental in setting the correct intellectual parameters in parts of the US Muslim community when forming a conscious electoral decision on November 5th.
My original position was to echo the views of many leaders within the US Muslim community who have said Muslim voters must disavow the two parties and opt for a third-party option, whoever that may be. But upon reflection, I think that advice, although in the right direction, will not procure the intended result – simply because it will diffuse the messaging of our vote. And thus diffuse its ability to make a statement. That’s why I have concluded that Muslims must vote for the Green Party on November 5th, even if they disagree, as I do, with some parts of their policy platform and public positions.
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The pro-genocide administration of Biden and Harris has been involved in a frenetic outreach to America’s small but vocal Muslim community. These critical constituents in crucial battleground states like Michigan are where November’s election will be won or lost. Both parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are Zionist to their core, but this genocide has happened with the seal of approval and the consent of the Biden-Harris administration.
Is Gaza a turning point? Can we move beyond this two-party nightmare? Are third-party options plausible in a system that approves only two possibilities? Or is voting for anyone but the two bad options a wasted vote? And what of the broader question of the US empire and its propensity to violence? How will this election address what the world observes as an imperium without moral or ethical standards?
Today I have a very special guest, Dr Jill Stein, leader of the Green Party and Presidential candidate. Jill is a Harvard educated doctor, an environmentalist, campaigner and organiser.
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Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslim
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Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:00 Is a vote for the Green Party a vote for Trump?
6:27 Voters vs Donors
7:31 Why is Kamala Harris not opposing the Genocide?
9:22 Does the Green Party have a Syria problem?
12:47 Oppressive leaders
14:24 Mehdi Hasan's position on Kamala Harris
20:33 How does voting Green Party help Gaza?
22:00 Green Party being contested
23:30 AIPAC is running America
25:38 The Responsibility of a Third Party
32:41 Building a Third Party for the American people
35:00 Muslims in the Green Party
39:50 5% of The Popular vote
44:46 Dr Stein's vision of American power?
50:59 Where do Ordinary Americans stand?
59:26 It's Not Too Late
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I have been struck by the thoughtful and nuanced conversations that are being had across the US about the coming elections. But there remains confusion. One such community that probably has reason to be sceptical of mainstream Muslim organisations and their approach to politics, as relationships, is the all-important African American Muslim community – very often neglected in any conversation.
I have invited today to show someone who I deeply respect for how he thought through these essential topics long before Gaza came along to haunt us. Imam Dawud Walid is the author of Towards Sacred Activism and an Imam in Michigan.
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We have seen the horrific genocidal scenes unfolding in the north of Gaza and in particular the onslaught by the occupation in Jabaliya. There is a horrendous cleansing of Palestinians, apparently to make way for Israeli settler expansion and cut the territory into two. This is a Nakba but worse. A catastrophe. But the world seems to remain silent. On a deeper level – many are asking when will the help of Allah come? How do we deal with this situation as a personal trauma.
My guest today, is Imam Fuad Abdo, himself from palestine. Imam Fuad is the imam of Goodmayes Mosque, and someone who I have seen firsthand at the forefront of activism – especially encouragement the encampment movement.
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The US elections are in full flow, with the two big parties focussing on the key swing states that will decide this election. In states like Michigan, a slight movement of voters can determine the outcome. And this means Muslim voters may play a decisive role.
To help us understand the political and intellectual climate, I have invited back onto the show Imam Tom Facchine show. Imam Tom has been instrumental in galvanising Muslims behind the anti-Harris campaign, and he joins us from Pennsylvania.
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Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
2:09 - Mehdi re Trump worse
8:31 – You are supporting Trump
11:43 – Trump vs Harris
17:47 – Lesser of the two evils
22:33 – Emgage and Harris
29:38 – Emgage no excuse
33:08 – Michigan is the showdown
40:46 – Green Party challenges
45:43 – Quantifying our Gaza votes
48:05 – Leverage within Democrats
50:55 – Staying at home
53:20 – US Exceptionalism
57:16 – Liberal ideology
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To help us unpick the relationship between Western foreign policy and media our guest this week is Hamza Yusuf is a British-Palestinian writer and journalist whose work focuses on Palestine. He has reported on daily life under occupation for Palestinians, including home demolitions and forced expulsion and the conditions for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. He is an investigative journalist at Declassified amongst other publications.
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The Biden-Harris administration has aided and abetted genocide. The argument they still deserve our vote is not only politically naïve but is also built upon a bed of lies. We must show courage in this election and vote for a third party. This is not only morally the correct position; it is the only way to build long-term political leverage for the American Muslim community. Read Muhammad Jalal's full article here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/p/harri...
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Please subscribe ** Dr Yakoob Ahmed interviews your host, Muhammad Jalal.
The genocide in Gaza and the need for enlightened activism was captured by the guests and content that came out on The Thinking Muslim. We had become accustomed to calls for immediate action, some of which were short-lived. But what The Thinking Muslim did was to place this activism within a sacred responsibility. That's why it captured so many imaginations and activated so many people.
Much of The Thinking Muslim's content has been carefully curated and well thought through, and the guests showcased are amongst the most articulate and thoughtful in their field.
Someone somewhere had the idea that Muhammad Jalal should answer questions from the Thinking Muslim audience, so they asked Dr Yakoob Ahmed to file these questions – and some of my own – to its host.
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Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
2:00 – Feelings?
2:45 – How did you start?
10:00 – Challenges faced
13:55 – The Team
17:50 – How Gaza changed everything
22:10 – Non-Muslim guests?
26:10 – How do you choose guests
29:56 – Pushing back
33:21 – UK elections and Gaza
38:08 – The election strategy
40:12 – Attacks from media
4215 – How invested are you in this system?
46:16 – University scene
49:20 – US elections
51:25 – Why visit the US
53:22 – US Muslims are different
58:16 – Anti- Harris campaign
1:00:07 – Young Muslims
1:01:34 – US empire?
1:03:40 – The left and right
1:10:13 – Islamic alternative
1:14:50 – Unity of Muslims
1:16:40 – Post-Gaza
1:18:40 – Guest selection
1:21:18 – Infantilising young Muslims
1:25:47 Book recommendation
1:28:59 – Dr Aafia Siqqiqui.
1:31:28 – Future of TM
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Is modern society failing our children? Has the quest for constant progress, through the use of technology and the desire to constantly engage our children with stimuli and keep them busy with lives that we have curated for them, been to the detriment of childhood? A recent global childhood report found that British children are the most unhappy in the Western world despite our relative material progress. Yet, there is rarely a conversation about the root causes.
My guest today, Ahmed Paul Keeler, is the AUTHOR OF RETHINKING ISLAM AND THE WEST. And also the author of a soon to be published book titled the Gazan Awakening. He has thought a lot about the issues involved in nurturing a true childhood. How can we resist the excesses of modernity and exhibit the timeless qualities of Islam in our lives?
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0:00 Introduction
2:04 Why is Childhood so important
20:00 Capitalism
25:30 How has childhood been breached
30:27 Teenage angst
41:40 Was it really good in the past?
53:00 Reclaiming Childhood
1:08:39 Motherhood and Fatherhood
1:18:40 The new generation
1:23:00 His new Gaza book
1:31:58 His poem
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Apologies for the slight deterioration in sound, especially in the first 30 minutes of the interview.
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The ongoing slaughter in Gaza and now the carpet bombing of Lebanon has at its backdrop the US elections. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have clearly stated their intentions to back Israel, and it is hard sometimes to place a cigarette paper between them.
So how should American Muslims respond to the genocide. Should they abandon Harris? I am planning to visit the US very soon inshallah and will be meeting with American Muslim leaders and others as I attempt to piece together an answer to these crucial questions. But to begin the conversation, I have invited back onto the show Sami Hamdi to share his thoughts.
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0:00 – Introduction
03:00 Is there a Harris bounce in the polls
07:06 If Harris loses, Zionism loses?
13:34 Why is AIPAC worried?
20:00 Shifting US public opinion
26:58 Muslims in swing states
30:01 Supporting Trump
38:19 Third-party candidates
48:21 Should we endorse Jill Stein
57:39 The lesser of the two evils
1:18:00 Are US Muslims ready for sacrifice
1:39:40 Non-Muslim allies
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Sami Hamdi has been at the fore of the conversation about how Muslims should respond to the unparalleled attack upon Gaza. The brutality with which the Israelis now act with impunity is clear for the majority of the world to see, but the West remains immune to its crimes. That’s partly because the West does not and cannot see Israel as anything but a benevolent project in a region that requires a Western presence. A colony. An imperial parasite whose crimes are erased by those funding its campaign of annihilation. Israel is not, as the conventional wisdom suggests, out of control. It is a project of the West. The West is Israel and Israel is the West. The two are symbiotically linked. Their destiny is one.
This past week, we have seen the latest escalation, the systematic use of communications pagers and walk-in talkies to kill and maim indiscriminately across Lebanon and parts of Syria. The response in much of the Western press has been to praise the action as creative and daring. But what lay behind this escalation, what is Israel’s game plan, and where do the Muslim rulers now sit, almost a year after this act of mass murder?
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0:00 – Introduction
2:20 – Why did Israel do this?
10:25 – Netanyahu’s calculation with Iran
15:14 – Role of the US in this crisis
19:47 – US involvement
22:07 – Iranian restraint
28:05 – How do we view what happened
31:38 – Was Syria US inspired?
38:00 – Did Iran help the Syrians?
46:09 – Saudi Arabia and Normalisation
53:19 – Erdoğan and Türkiye
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The Sunni Shia divide remains an open wound and a means by which our enemies meddle in our internal affairs. Since the war on terror, and the horrible sectarianism unleashed on Iraq, this divide has got even bigger and has often led to bloody violence. However, amidst this turmoil, we often hear voices from within the Ummah and beyond, dreaming of unity to confront the misery, humiliation, and suffering of the oppressed, especially in the current situation with Palestine. But it’s a difficult topic, there are a host of theological and political concerns and the current tussle between Saudi Arabia and Iran makes any talk of reconciliation or an overlapping consensus politically charged.
Dr Suwaidan is a profile writer, speaker, trainer and in many ways has brought much needed intellectual thought to our age.
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0:00 – Introduction
1:55 – Iraq: Framing sectarianism
10:00 – Iran’s Shia exceptionalism
15:30 – Iran and Shia not the same
16:48 – Why do we need unity?
21:03 – Overlapping consensus?
22:06 – How do we do this?
24:32 – Declaring takfir and abuse of companions
31:44 – A major cultural shift?
33:50 – Our enemies using our division
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It is said a people without a past are a lost soul. And in today’s turbulent world, the Muslim ummah has come to realise that we have, in many cases, been taught a version of history that fails to appreciate what the late Shabbir Akhtar called Islam as a imperial faith.
Dr Yakoob Ahmed is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He was until recently a lecturer in Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is a regular to this podcast and writes and lectures extensively on Ottoman history. He is the author of a soon to be published title, Does History Matter – history done islamically - the conversation of today.
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0:00 Introduction
2:00 Gaza at the crossed roads
8:08 History as a vocation
11:08 Islam as an Imperial Faith
14:40 Historians providing solutions
19:48 What are we doing wrong with history?
25:26 Idealism?
32:50 The Quran and History
37:32 Ibn Khuldun’s cyclical theory
43:22 Islam and the production of knowledge
50:40 Fiction and Ertrugul
55:20 Islamic method of history?
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Gaza has been a hurtful experience. This year we saw the passing of a milestone, 100 years without a central leadership. The last Ottoman Caliphate, with all its faults, remained a global force and acted as a shield for this ummah. So why have we declined to such a degree that it seems our leadership is inept and our ummah has not moved over Gaza. And what now can we do about it?
Dr Tareq al-Suwaidan is a prolific writer, speaker, trainer and in many ways has brought much needed intellectual thought to our age.
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0:00 Introduction
2:21 – Why has the ummah not moved?
7:18 – is it s leadership issue
12:10 – Western interference?
14:10 – Excuses of the rulers
17:03 – Decline inevitable?
25:28 – Prophetic method
34:25 – Do we need a new leader?
37:41 – Muslim political unity
42:58 – Poor scholarship
51:55 – Responding to Gaza’s pain
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Today, The United States strides the globe as one of the world's most powerful empires ever witnessed. Its hegemonic ambition, devised after the Second World War and consolidated with the untimely fall of the Soviet Union, knows little limits. With a litany of military bases, a network of alliances, an international economic architecture that places it at the centre of the world economy and enormous structural power in the form of global institutions, its empire is all-encompassing.
My guest this week is Matt Kennard; he argues there is a global network of elites who do the bidding for this empire. While working for the Financial Times as an investigative journalist, he had unbridled access to the crème de la crème of the global elite. He is the author of The Racket, A Rogue Reporter vs the American Empire; Matt is a Co-Founder and head of investigations at Declassified UK.
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For a conscientious Muslim, managing ones money in the West can be a difficult prospect. Islam has a series of rules to do with money, the prohibition of riba (interest) being the key one, and rules on trade that often places it at odds with a rather laissez faire Neo liberal model. Muslims feel a sense of unease when we place our money in banks or engage is investment opportunities that may contravene Islamic precepts.
Our guest today was an Islamic finance industry insider. Harris Irfan is currently the CEO of Cordoba Capital Markets. He has 29 years of investment banking and consulting experience. He was the former co-founder of Deutsche Bank's world-leading Islamic finance team and CEO of Deutsche's Islamic finance subsidiary. He is the Former Global Head of Islamic Finance at Barclays, then Head of Investment Banking for the Rasmala group. He is also the author of "Heaven's Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance", the critically acclaimed best-seller about the Islamic finance industry.
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Until last week, all the talk in the west was that of a developing ceasefire agreement for Gaza. That talk is now about a regional conflict. The lead negotiator, Ismail Haniyah, May Allah have mercy on him and accord to him the status of shahadah, was assassinated in an audacious attack in Tehran. This follows the death of a high-profile commander, Fuad Shukr, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. There are now fears that the conflict will escalate and more directly involve Iran. Already, Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, has talked of revenge, and so have the Iranians.
To help us navigate this evolving crisis, I am pleased to have Dr Azzam Tamimi back on our show. A political analyst and expert in the region and author on a well researched book on the group Hamas. He joins us today online from Jordan,
It must be made clear that this show is an analytical show and in no way represents an acceptance of the tactics and methods of any organisation discussed. It is our editorial decision to engage in a conversation about the current events as an exercise in informing our audience. We remain completely against any tactic that undermines the sanctity of all human life.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:00 Why did they escalate at this time
5:44 Iran’s lapse in security
7:20 Iran’s response
10:14 Is Iran serious about resistance
12:05 Netanyahu regional war?
14:05 Trump and Isreal
16:56 Harris and Israel Policy
22:12 Muslims and US elections
24:29 Khalid Mashal
28:04 Ceasefire prospects
29:34 China’s role
32:31 What can we do?
36:58 Ismail Haniyeh
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To help us understand the situation in Bangladesh after the student protests, journalist and commentator Dilly Hussain joins us. Dilly is known for his public engagements, his fearless contribution to Muslim conversation, and his editorship of 5pillars.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 160
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The Quran is the majestic word of Allah (swt), it gives Muslims life. In the Quran, Allah speaks to all human beings and those that read the Quran revere the majesty of its style and prose. Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem is the Professor of Islamic Studies and director of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University, as well as editor of the Journal of Qur’anic Studies. Born in Egypt, he learned the Qur’an by heart during childhood. Haleem has published two translations of the Qur'an including the wonderful The Qur'an: A New Translation (2004).
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This week, I invite Riaz Hasan, an economist and data scientist who has worked with me throughout this period on the elections. Riaz and I worked together over these past weeks to inject some data into the conversation about Muslim electoral weight. He was instrumental in offering the communities advice on moving forward, using the clarity of numbers to run good-quality local campaigns.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 158
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A question many Western analysts have attempted to answer is whether Islam is a political faith. To help us understand the subject, we have invited an Dr. Fadhl Hasan. Dr Fadl is a Co-Founder of the Dar Al Ilm Institute. He was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he memorised the Quran and attained his foundational knowledge of Arabic and Islamic sciences. He runs a publishing solutions company that, in addition to publishing Islamic texts, focuses on the revival and awakening of the Islamic Ummah. His research interests include Usul, Fiqh, and Muamalaat - Islamic Economics.
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Urgent Call: To help leanne’s campaign in the last few days head to https://airtable.com/appE47RFg1wKrv41...
This is probably the most important political campaign in the country. Leanne Mohamad is looking to cause a massive political upset for Labour this election night.
Leanne Mohamad is a British Palestinian organiser and politician who is looking to win a seat in the UK general election on the 4 July. We speak about courage and the need to build a moral and principled politics.
You can read about her pledges here: http://www.leannemohamad.co.uk
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How do we conceptualise where we are, the international situation and what comes next. To help us understand ourselves and the world, we are happy to invite back onto the Thinking Muslim our friend Sami Hamdi.
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At a time when the youth of the world are rising up for Gaza, it is probably not uncontroversial to say that Muslim students on university campuses are lagging behind. Dr. Ayo Khalil is a medical Doctor, community worker, and former student activist who spearheaded student political campaigns against Islamophobia, racism, and Israeli apartheid. He was also a VP at Fosis in 2020, leading their political work.
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Until recently, lawyer Tasnime Akunjee was standing to be an MP in the British Westminster Parliament – standing in the seat of Bethnal Green and Stephney. I say until recently, because in order to prevent a split vote he did the honourable thing and stood down – sparking praise across the country. In Britain’s 4 million strong Muslim community, Tasnime’s behaviour is a model for how we should act – in unison to achieve our ends rather than for our individual ambitions.
Tasnime is a criminal defence lawyer specialising in terrorism. He has defended high profile clients including Shamima Begüm and Jamal Hejazi – who bankrupted Tommy Robinson.
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The Thinking Muslim team was honoured to host this exclusive event at Gatton Road Mosque, London with two lucid and outstanding thinkers. Ahmed Paul Keeler and Imam Tom Facchine discussed Muslims in an Age of Crises.
Recording from 19th April 2024
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Our guest this week has been dismayed at the negative media coverage given to Muslims who place Gaza as a voting concern. Terms like fifth column and insurrectionists have been evoked to claim the Muslim vote should be deeply feared.
Peter Oborne writes principally for the Middle East Eye, among other outlets. His books include "The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth.”
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To help us navigate BDS, Ibrahim Khan is our guest. He is currently the CEO of Islamic Finance Guru @IFGuru and its sister investment company Cur8 Capital. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford, an Alimiyyah degree from the Al Salam Institute, and an MA in Islamic Finance. Prior to setting up IFG, Ibrahim was a corporate lawyer.
Recommended BDS Links
- https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Again...
- https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1
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Dr Amina Shareef is Assistant Professor in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research seeks to understand how Muslim people are unmade as tawhidic subjects—subjects forged in relation to tawhidic worldview in which there is no god but God—and remade as liberal subjects by anti-Muslim racism.
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Imam Tom Facchine is the research director of the Department of Islam and Society at Yaqeen Institute. And a prolific speaker and commentator on Islam and philosophy. He discusses the US empire, American exceptionalism, liberalism and US Muslims abandoning Biden.
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The Labour Party is en route to form the next government of the United Kingdom with what most analysts describe as a landslide majority. The Conservatives have resided over a failed government, with Brexit, economic crisis and poor public services now associated with the Rishi Sunak’s lacklustre government. Labour’s leader, Keir Starmer is comfortably ahead in the polls and it is now openly stated that the tories may be out of government for a generation.
Yet on Gaza, Labour policy has been horrendous. It has given a green light to Israel from the very start of its genocidal campaign, with its frontbenchers including David Lammy, Wes Streeting, Emily Thornberry and Lisa Nandy making it very clear that they supported a siege of Gaza or the absolute right of Israel to self defence. Labour continued this position despite the carnage and despite the interim judgement by the ICJ that clearly stated Israel was committing a plausible genocide.
I have visited many Muslim communities in towns and cities across the UK and it is clear to me that our anger is palpable. There is a consensus forming that we can no longer vote for a party that has given the green light to killing on an industrial scale. To help us make a case against Labour, I have the pleasure today to speak to probably someone who is the most qualified to discuss the party, journalist and commentator Owen Jones. Owen has been a principled campaigner for Gaza and recently made the unprecedented move to leave Labour. He now calls for an alliance of independents and progressives.
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist and the author of a number of book including The Establishment – And How They Get Away With It
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This interview was conducted before the most recent verdict in the High Court rejecting the right of a student to conduct Muslim prayers in British schools.
Over the past few years there has been intense debate about the place of Muslim practice in liberal western societies. Across the west, partly because of the war on terror, politicians talk of unwelcome cultural shifts and the the need to chasten Islam in public life. In many European capitals, theres a debate about whether multiculturalism, a policy coined in the 1960s to integrate migrants, has had its day. Here in Britain, even many on the Labour left today blame the policy for allowing migrants to feel comfortable in their ‘ghettos’ whilst the right wing press talk of ‘no go areas’ and isolationist tendencies. This febrile environment has led to leaders like David Cameron to talk of a muscular liberalism. One that demands much more from those that have origins in other countries.
My guest today is Lord Bikhu Parekh. Bikhu is a champion of a pluralist society, one where liberal dogma makes way for genuine multiculturalism where communities engage in a conversation, embracing the possible cultural shifts that may come with that. Bikhu is the emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Westminster and Hull, a distinguished scholar and prolific writer. Pertinent to today’s interview, he wrote ‘rethinking multiculturalism’.
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You can email Clive on clivestaffordsmith2020@gmail.com
Please send your letters to Clive. Make them more than a couple of lines.
Clive also needs a team of lawyers to help him in Texas.
If you want to help fund Dr Aafia’s legal costs, below is Clive's paypal campaign
https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaig...
The case of Aafia Siddiqui remains an open wound for us all. It symbolises the inhumanity and barbarism of US foreign policy. The incarceration of this brilliant academic and mother of three, has become a marker of its excesses, of which there were many. She languishes in prison, serving an 86-year sentence for an offence that looks barely credible, the attempted murder of two US officials in Afghanistan in 2008. Her whereabouts before that date has been hotly contested, but her lawyers and activists have patched together the conspiracy surrounding Dr Aafias ordeal. Sadly the welfare of her youngest son Suleman – who has not been seen since her detention in 2003 remains unknown. Presumed dead.
The last time I spoke with Dr Aafias lawyer Clive Stafford Smith he had returned from her prison in Forth Worth Texas – where she had been reunited with her sister Fozia for the first time in 20 years. If you haven’t watched that programme, I would highly recommend you do to give you the backstory to this horrific case. Clive has just returned from a factfinsding mission to Afghanistan, and he has some considerable updates on Aafias case.
Clive has helped secure the release of 86 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and still acts for the remaining numbers. Since the early days of the War on Terror, he has worked tirelessly to force the Americans and other Western powers to adhere to the rule of law. He has sought to uncover the secret prisons and ghost prisoners that stain the reputation of powerful states – who presented their wars in benevolent terms.
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The 17th Ramadan marks the most decisive battle in the history of early Islam. Dr Wajid Akhtar, founder of Charity Week for Orphans and Children in Need and Council member of the British Islamic Medical Association discusses the great battle of Badr, the most consequential battle in Islamic history.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 145
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Every year, the list of beleaguered Muslim countries and people increases, and with it, the demand for charity. We are used to giving in sadaqa – and our kindness as a community is rarely matched. The Muslim community in the UK alone gives upwards of £1bn in charity – much of which goes abroad.
The situation in Gaza has once again led to a determined effort by many to contribute to charitable causes. As Ramadan comes, inevitably, our minds and hearts will turn to those in our umma who live this month with nothing but the clothes on their back; such is the parlous state of Muslims.
But does charity work? What is charity? Is building a water well, however satisfying, the way to reconstruct our Muslim world? Are there better ways by which we can use our money without compromising on our commitment to our people? To help us understand this subject, we have invited a charity insider, probably someone who is most qualified to help us untangle this topic, onto The Thinking Muslim.
Kashif Shabir has over 15 years’ experience in the social impact and charity sector. He was until recently the CEO of Muslim Aid, one of the oldest faith-based NGOs in the UK. He has worked for, and help found several Muslim charities, including The National Zakat Foundation & Charity Right and held leadership positions at some of the largest mainstream charities including as Head of Knowledge and Learning at Oxfam and the British Red Cross, as part of their strategic change management team.
Kashif sits on several advisory boards, including BOND, the largest network of organisations working in international development and Muslim Aid USA. He currently leads the Social Impact Advisory at Qadr Financial and is the founder of Ethical Consulting Group where he works with Charities, Family Offices and Government agencies to improve their effectiveness and maximise their social impact.
Kashif is available for executive coaching and consulting opportunities through the Ethical Consulting website www.ethicalltd.com
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We are in the month of Ramadan where Muslims worldwide share in the simple yet profound act of fasting from dawn to dusk. Our collective commitment to this activity is often met with surprise by others who do not share our faith; how can someone be so devoted to a creator, and why is sacrifice so important to submission? We in the West are often confronted with questions about fasting and Islamic practice in general, and some have found the standard answers insufficient to appease the questioner. In a so-called rational West, where everything has to be justified, many Muslims want to know why. Why do we fast, why do we pray, why is there a Shariah?
To help us navigate the topic of rationality in Islam and how this interacts with Shariah, I am honoured to have on the show Shaykh Hamza Karamali; Shaykh Hamza has studied and mastered the Islamic sciences and Arabic grammar and rhetoric. His institute, Basira Education, aims to address some of the thoughts that undermine confidence in Islam and help the younger generation observe their religion with rational certainty. He has a course currently running on why Islam is true.
You can get Hamza Karamali's FREE Quranic Case for God Video Series. Discover the Quranic rational Argument that will silence any atheist at https://quraniccaseforgod.com/ In 4 short videos you will learn how the argument works, see it being used in the Quran, learn how to apply it to the most common atheist objection and then watch a real world christian-atheist debate, and see how it should have been applied. Go to https://ramadanforever.com/ to learn more.
You can also join him on his Ramadan Forever Challenge to make this Ramadan last forever, with a change that stays with you when Ramadan leaves. A short lesson each day with a simple to implement 3-point action plan that takes only a minute to do, and a success tracker sheet to keep yourself accountable and measure your progress. Find out more at www.RamadanForever.com
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We are all angry. We live in an unjust world. The so-called rules-based system, the rhetoric surrounding human rights, the endless speeches on democracy and freedom – all of it turned out to be hollow. The death and destruction in gaza is juxtaposed with the triviality with which the political elites in the west talk of human life. We are angry.
How does a Muslim deal with this visceral anger. How do we deal with the inhumanity of these western elites yet stay true to ourselves and who we are? Should we learn to stop being angry and live our lives in a comatose state or utilise this anger in a just direction?
Today we have Dr Kamal Abu Zahra to help us understand anger from an Islamic perspective.
My guest today is Dr Kamal Abu Zahra is a lecturer in Islamic studies and in Islamic law who has an expertise in the contemporary fiqh.
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The current slaughter meted out on innocents in Gaza, fully supported Western Governments, is founded upon a bed of lies. It is said that the truth is the first casualty of war, yet in this war the truth is not hidden –the decapitated bodies, crushed skulls, emaciated children, the callous shelling of hungry souls as they clamour for flour – all of this is known to the world and there remains little doubt that what we are witnessing is truly horrific. Yet the Israeli counter-narrative looks to subvert this truth; these images they claim, however regrettable, are the result of such a heinous crime that they are necessary for rooting out the evil. The Gazan women and children are no more than collateral damage. I have argued that what the hypocritical West fails to see is that for every soul whose death they manufacture, the very edifice upon which they claim a moral high ground is crumbling.
My guest today, Ahmed Paul Keeler argues in a provocative and beautifully written piece that narratives matter. This is why millions are spent on spinning a story about the state of Israel and the traducing the claims of Palestinians. Today we take a forensic look at these narratives.
His powerful article is available on Jalal's newsletter jalalayn.substack.com
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At the time where our attention is fixed on Gaza, rightly, another conflict is taking place with horrendous cost to human life. Sadly As always, our ummah has become subject to the political ambitions of egotistical actors and their outside backers. Sudan is burning. There are 8 million people on the move, escaping the indiscriminate murder, rape and pillage of what can only be described as two warlords that thwarted a people’s revolution – aided by external powers.
Today we explore these two conflicts. In a way, they are one. They are recent episodes of a Muslim world in crisis. Our ummah today lives in a perpetual state of conflict, can we escape this dire situation. We are now 100 years since the formal demise of the Ottoman state, what does the next 100 years look like.
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Sami Hamdi for the past five months has helped us untangle and understand the motives and actions of the actors that wage genocide in Gaza. The conflict, if that is even a proper term to use, seems to be continuing despite discussions of an end game. At the time of recording this interview, we have heard from Joe Biden casually licking an ice cream and talking of ceasefires when tens of thousands starve in Northern Gaza. The callousness with which the west now talk of mopping up a crime scene is staggering. How can a liberal west, fixated on preaching rights have maintained this collective pretence?
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We had a problem with our guest’s audio this week. Apologies for this, we wanted to however get this episode out.
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This past few weeks in Pakistan have been a rollercoaster ride. We have seen the continued, brazen army interference in elections that for so long has earned the country the dubious title of possessing a ‘sham democracy’. The country’s elected leader, Imran Khan, is languishing in prison on what are trumped-up charges and hundreds of his party members have been chased, arrested and incarcerated by what can only be described as the deep state apparatus.
Election day was a sham. And it seems the army’s designated successors are about to take their positions. But, often, what is on the surface may conceal deeper facts. Today we have political analyst Kashif Gilani from Islamabad to discuss the situation.
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Our guest this week, Dr Sohail Hanif, argues that we need to reconnect with not just our relationship with our umma but also have to reorient our lives to live like the murabitun of the past, those who saw themselves as within a wider objective of thinking about deen and the umma and their part within this rubric. In this endeavour, to change our mentality, we have to reconfigure how we view some of the fundamental Islamic ideas of zakat, ummah and jihad. Are we in the west manning an outpost of this umma. And has Gaza taught us a wider lesson about reorienting our mentalities.
Dr Sohail is the National Zakat Foundation’s Chief Executive. Prior to this, he held the position of Lecturer at Cambridge Muslim College. He also was the Head of Sciences at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman. He has expertise in Islamic law, having studied extensively with traditional scholars, and holds a PhD from Oxford University. Listen to the audio version of the podcast:
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How do we learn from the wisdom of others in a world intent on ruthless autonomy? Today, with the Gaza war as our backdrop, we ask Dr Yakoob Ahmed what pieces of advice he would give to his 18-year-old self.
Dr Yakoob Ahmed is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He is a PhD graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies and currently teaches Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is in the process of completing his first book on the late Ottoman ulema, to be published next year.
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The recent ICJ interim order has been interpreted in many ways by its proponents, who hail it a victory and its opponents, who denounce it as an Israeli conspiracy. However, many have questioned the efficacy of the interim order, pointing to the ICJ’s lack of enforcement and the absence of an explicit mention of a ceasefire. To help us understand the complexities surrounding the judgement, we have invited, at short notice, Tayab Ali in once again.
Tayab Ali, is a lawyer specialising in international law. He is a partner at the legal firm Bindmans. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights and at international political and legal institutions, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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When we consider the ongoing slaughter that is Gaza and the West's complicity, it's not the world leaders, East or West, who have captured our collective imagination – it's the ordinary people who have made the difference. It's the journalists, poets – the doctors and nurses that have helped the world see the atrocities of settler colonialism and its abject violence. Certainly, a defused media has given the world, possibly for the very first time, the ability to witness the horrors of Israel – but it is people like my guest today who have been able to articulate a narrative that rises above the deliberate propaganda that passes as commentary.
Professor Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a multi-award-winning Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. He has worked in multiple war zones, including Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Gaza. He was, until recently, working to save lives in Gaza’s war ravaged and ill-equipped hospitals.
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Zionism is the ideology that underpins the barbarism that has been meted out on Palestinians, its latest chapter being the slaughter that is currently happening in Gaza. Yet its ideals remain respectable in establishment circles. In the United States, political leaders fall over one another to declare their un denying loyalty to the creed and in Britain, there has been a long tradition of Christian Zionism that spans back to the early twentieth century and the Balfour Declaration.
Ahmed Paul Keeler. He argues that Zionism has become embedded into the Western mindset through education and culture. It relies upon a Darwinian hierarchy that places Europeans at the top and Arabs and others as savages and less human, terms that have been uttered in recent events with greater frequency. Ahmed was born in 1942 and was brought up in a conservative upper-middle class Anglo Catholic family. He belonged to a generation that was brought up to serve the British empire. Ahmed Keeler is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, and was a Distinguished Fellow at The Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia in 2016.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode133
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Today, we are confronting nothing short of a campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians of Gaza, not seen since the Nakba or Catastrophe of 1948. Yet many in the Western world are silent to the suffering. Much of what justifies Israel and its actions in the West is premised on history, and many European and American historians have been ready to present a compelling argument for Zionism and the case for Israel in the heart of the Middle East.
This historical justification, based on persecution and antisemitism, gives the story of Israel a potency that has for many years served to find acceptance in the West – of impunity to act without restraint - that is not offered to any other state. At the same time, the Palestinian story has been undermined by these same historians. They were a Bedouin community, readily able to vacate their land – it is said. Palestinians, according to leading Israeli politicians, is a mythical people.
Today, we are honoured to have Professor Avi Shlaim with us to untangle historical facts from fiction. Avi Shlaim is an eminent historian. He is an Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University and the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (2014) and Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations (2009). Professor Shlaim is a dual Israeli British citizen who lived in the country as a child. His family originated from Iraq and migrated to the newly founded state in 1950.
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We have now passed three months of the Gaza slaughter, and according to the UN, Gaza has become uninhabitable. During these past few days, we have seen another frenetic series of diplomatic meetings by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in the region as the US looks to consolidate the status quo. The genocidal intent of the Israeli state. If it was unclear at the start of the conflict, it is clear now that the United States has given the green light to the Israelis to mete out their punishment. The Arab and Muslim states have, it seems, mostly acquiesced with the US. In public, they condemn, whereas in private, they look the other way or, in the case of Egypt, conspire with the US and Israel to make sure Gaza’s resistance is erased. We have, however, seen signs, that can be interpreted as further escalation. The Houthis in Yemen have now accosted over 20 ships in the Red Sea, and on Lebanon's southern border, there remains an active engagement with Israeli soldiers.
To help us understand the complexities of the current crisis, I have invited Sami Hamdi back into the studio. Sami is the director of the International Interest, a risk advisory.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode130
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In the long durée of Islamic history, we often lose sight that every generation, even the best generation, that of the companions, had deep challenges to overcome. Our enemies have continuously worked to undermine our unity, and it is often the hard lessons of these challenges that help us overcome our petty disputes and territorial differences. This episode we focus on the notion of unity and its real implications. If we agree the lack of Muslim unity is holding us back – how do we overcome this challenge? And are we destined to slide into further decline? And is their hope in this crisis?
Dr Omar Suleiman is the founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute.
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** This interview was recorded a few hours before South Africa initiated its ICJ case - the Genocide Convention is discussed in detail here.
When we consider the disgraceful actions of the Israeli state, it becomes evident that they operate in a system of impunity.
But what, if anything, can we do about this? My guest today, Tayab Ali, is a lawyer specialising in criminal trials. He is a partner at the legal firm Bindmans. He has been described as “an irresistible force – he’s fearless.” He is rated as a Super Lawyer by Thompson Reuters and recognised in Civil Liberties by The Legal 500. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights and at international political and legal institutions, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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The events in Gaza, the horrific slaughter of over 20,000 Gazans remains a deep wound all people of conscience have had to contend with over the past two months. The callous way with which the lives of young innocents can be so openly calculated and traded is shocking yet predictable in equal measure. Much of what has happened is premised on a set of collective myths the west has attempted to perpetuate about Israel and its intentions. A compliant media and a political class that have provided a thin veneer of acceptability to Israel’s murderous rampage has all but shattered the myth that the west holds the moral high ground.
Today forensically explore the myths that surround the current crisis. To help us understand the situation better we have back onto the show Dr Azzam Tamimi who is a Palestinian British academic, author of Hamas the unwritten chapter.
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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode127
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The plight of the Uyghur Muslims in East Turkestan has been described as a genocide. An entire ethnic, cultural and religious group is being erased. We hear stories of mass detention, the banning of Ramadan, and the closure and demolition of mosques. We also hear the disturbing reports of women being forced into marriage, forced sterilisation and children being removed from families and reassigned to Chinese couples.
But at the same time, people question these accounts. There is a disinformation campaign on social media and diplomatic circles, and many, even some government-paid Islamic scholars, have questioned the extent of the persecution, if not the persecution itself, especially since the Biden administration has adopted it as a cause, as part of their fight against an emerging geopolitical rival. So how do we know what to believe. Today we are joined by Abdureşid Eminhaci , he is the Secretary General of International union of The East Turkestan organisation, one of the largest Uyghur organisations in Turkey.
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As the unrelenting Gaza killing of civilians continues unabated, another potential ethnic cleansing in Palestine is underway – again in plain sight. The gradual conquest of Palestinian land is continuing at pace. Armed Israeli settlers, with the full backing of the state, pillage and forcibly vacate entire villages and farming communities. Yet the international community remains mute. This is ethnic cleansing on two fronts.
Today, we have back on The Thinking Muslim. Journalist, author, and public commentator Peter Oborne recently returned from a visit to the West Bank. Peter is almost unique in the mainstream media for being someone who has consistently called out the marginalisation of the Muslim community, both here and abroad. Peter principally writes for the Middle East Eye, amongst other outlets. His books include ‘The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth”.
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This past week, the world has reflected on the death of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. As Nixon's national security advisor, he was notorious for his ultra-realist approach to international politics, which saw the policy of triangulation with China and the Soviet Union that was pivotal in bringing China into the Western sphere and ultimately helping the emerging economy become a global power. But also the carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia, in a failed attempt to solicit concessions from the North Vietnamese. Such unscrupulous foreign policy is again on display over Gaza. The silence with which the Western powers have embraced the slaughter and the tacit, if not open, approval of Israel's behaviour evokes a long-standing memory in the global south about a racist colonial logic. Today, we would like to explore this with our very own elder statesman', Dr Mahathir Mohamed.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister for some 22 years. He has stewarded Malaysia through a difficult period; today it is a thriving economy. He came back to power briefly after winning a resounding victory in 2018. Dr Mahathir has seen first-hand in his 98 years the rise of America and the establishment of Israel, but also the sorry state of much of our ummah - and today, we would like to tap into his extensive knowledge and wisdom.
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The events of the past 6 weeks have exposed the sheer double standards that apply to the implementation of international law. The so-called liberal international order has been found to be nothing short of hypocritical. Gaza has exposed not only this duplicity but also the very ideas that undergird such a system. Today, we explore these ideas. Many surmise that the West has taken a wrong turn, and if only they return back to their original noble enlightenment values. Yet Gaza unveils a more unsettling truth. That the values of secular liberalism have always remained connected to European chauvinism. Their unbridled support for a settler colonial project and the ease with which they absorb genocide reveals the unsettling nature of liberalism. This is the argument of my guest today, Hasan Spiker.
Hasan Spiker is a philosopher and comparative scholar of Islamic, Greek, and modern thought he studied at the University of Cambridge, where he received his MPhil in philosophy and where is carrying out his doctoral research. He also studied the Islamic sciences. His new book, Hierarchy and Freedom: An Examination of Some Classical Metaphysical and Post-Enlightenment Accounts of Human Autonomy, was released this year.
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Wadah Khanfar is the President of Al Sharq Forum and former Al Jazeera Director General from 2003 to 2011.
Gaza has been described as a graveyard of children. But it also represents a graveyard of the liberal world order. The very values that undergird this so-called rules-based system have been revealed for what they really are — a set of norms created to preserve the interests of the West. Their unrepentant support for the worst crimes of Israel, the brutality of indiscriminate bombings, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the carpet bombings of entire neighbourhoods, and the use of the most wicked weaponry – without even the slightest murmur from Western capitals have consolidated a new consciousness.
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Come election time, Western Muslim communities have been asked to support mainstream political parties in exchange for representation. Some commentators have praised the multiculturalism of countries like the UK, where the party system has integrated many Muslims into the political system. Here in London, we have Sadiq Khan, arguably the highest-ranking elected Muslim official in the Western world. In the United States, there’s a similar push for Muslims to support the Democrats and even the Republicans, and some have broken the glass ceiling and represent the parties at local and national levels.
But does Muslim representation really work? On Gaza, we have seen the limits of the ‘Muslim voice’. What are the structural compromises the system will always want to solicit from Muslim representatives? Does the system only support particular types of candidates, and does the system change the people who set out to change the system?
To explore this topic, I have with me in the studio today Dr Asim Qureishi. Dr Asim Qureshi is the research director at CAGE, a UK-based advocacy organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror. He has a background in International Law and is the author of the books "Rules of the Game" and "A Virtue of Disobedience".
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Since we last spoke to Sami Hamdi, a lot has happened in the ongoing Gaza slaughter. Israel has finally moved its ground operations into Gaza, and their Western backers have set down their intention to provide diplomatic cover to their settler offshoot and shield it from criticism. Western leaders have had to defend the indefensible as Israel's punitive and indiscriminate action continues. For example, Ursula Vonderlyen, the President of the EU Commission, just yesterday sent out a tweet at a holocaust memorial saying never again. Yet, the day before, she met with an Israeli official and gave her undying commitment to his cause, such is their barefaced duplicity.
Calls for a ceasefire have been vetoed at the UN, and the West accepts no liability for the thousands murdered in cold blood. It is truly astonishing to see how liberals on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed what most of us have known for a long time: that their so-called rules-based international order is set up to cover their brutality. It is not that they kill civilians without any recourse to humanity. It's that they openly declare their mass murder with knowledge of impunity. The West has given them diplomatic cover to engage in slaughter without red lines. This is truly an age of impunity.
Sami Hamdi is the director of international interest and a regular commentator on mainstream news networks.
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The death toll in Gaza has reached above 10,000, yet the so-called international community, in reality, the Western nations, are deaf to the cries under the rubble. The Israeli war machine no longer worries about redlines as they act in complete impunity. If the hypocrisy of the West was not evident before this crisis, it is clear now that the Liberal World Order was never meant to safeguard the lives and honour of those it deems lesser people.
Amr Abdul Latif was, until recently, a resident and citizen of Gaza. He came to the UK to study for his postgraduate degree at St Andrews University and now works as a software developer. The Western press, even those that show little empathy, present the people of Gaza as lesser human beings who do not have dreams and aspirations. Who are either to be pitied or presented as subhuman. I want to understand what life has been like since 2007, when Israel announced its siege and what the average Gaza actually believes.
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As the Israeli war machine is in full motion, the position of the West lays bare the hollowness of its claims to observe international law. With every US-manufactured bomb dropped on Gaza, the vacuousness of its liberal world order is exposed to Muslims and the world. Yet what can we do about this situation? Lately, many governments have queued up to sign the so-called Abraham Accords with the apartheid state, and it has been concluded that the Arabs no longer care for the Palestinian cause. Today, we get a real feel for the ‘Arab street’ and what Palestine means to Muslims in the region.
Our guest this episode is Dr. Tareq Suwaidan. He is the CEO and owner of Gulf Innovation Group in Kuwait and was the General Manager of Al-Resalah Satellite TV - ranked among the highest in the Middle East.He holds a PhD from the University of Oklahoma and lived in the United States for 20 years.Dr. Tareq Suwaidan is recognised as one of the most popular Islamic speakers in the Arab world and was named among the 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2022. Dr. Suwaidan authored more than 100 books on Islam and history. He uses the seerah as a source for leadership and strategic skills. He has trained more than 100,000 students in Management & Leadership skills, established 5 American and Canadian schools, and boasts over 18 million followers on social media.
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Our guest this week is Dr Kamal Abu Zahra is a lecturer in Islamic studies and in Islamic law who has an expertise in the contemporary fiqh
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It is easy to feel a sense of gloom. The world has come together against us. Some, particularly those who are not tested like the Palestinians, may even have doubts about their Islam – impacting their basic iman. Some call for compromise with the perpetrators or, worse still, call for normalisation. We explore the concepts and emotions that form the backbone of what it is to be a believer.
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The anger we feel from Israel’s continued barbarous shelling of Gaza cannot be put into words. The impunity with which it acts and the green light given by the west just reminds us that the so-called rules-based order is setup to serve the West. With all this in mind, young people in particular are being reminded daily that Palestinian activism is viewed with suspicion by education authorities. In the UK, the government has mooted that flying the Palestinian flag could be supporting terror and its Prevent laws make it extremely difficult for our youth to voice even their support for our ummah, lest they are investigated for links to extremism. To help parents and young people understand how to navigate this minefield.
Dr Layla Aitlhadj, has been a tenacious campaigner to expose how the government has violated the most basic rights of ordinary Muslim citizens. Her organisation Prevent Watch has helped countless Muslim families caught up in this net of accusations. Her diligence and assiduous approach to prevent cases has helped shine a light on how destructive this policy is.
To donate to Prevent Watch, visit https://www.preventwatch.org/donation/
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When we consider the stance of the West over Israel’s actions these past weeks, many point out the blatant hypocrisy in applying their standards. We are constantly told that human rights are inviolable, that freedom of speech is sacrosanct, and that people have the right to self-determination. Westerners sermonise about how Muslims should embrace democratic norms. They pontificate about the rules-based liberal world order, where rules are applied fairly and equally. Yet, in these past weeks, anyone with a conscience would note that these calls ring hollow. We all can see this hypocrisy. But are the West negligent of their ideals? Are they acting in contrary to their liberal values. It is said if only they were brought to the right path once again.
Imam Tom Facchine argues the West is acting perfectly in line with their worldviews. Imam Tom Facchine finished his BA in Political Science and was granted the opportunity to study at the Islamic University of Madinah from 2015-2020, where he obtained his BA from the Faculty of Shariah. Imam Tom is the Research Director of Islam and Society at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He is also a resident scholar and imam of Utica Masjid (New York state).
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The inhuman aggression by which Israel treats Palestinians is known to everyone who possesses an ounce of justice. This excludes, of course, Western nations for whom, apparently, history began last Saturday. However, they are very aware that the colonial outpost they set up in the Middle East is hell-bent on extracting as much land as possible to accommodate racist Americans and Europeans. They are aware that in the process, Israel slowly squeezes Palestinians and of the daily humiliations – the trigger-happy border guards that maim and murder. They know all of this yet remain deaf to the cries. They give the murderous state weapons of war, instruments of torture, and diplomatic cover. Just this past week, the main political parties on both sides of the Atlantic were falling over each other to give Israel the green light. In an age of impunity, Israel has a free pass.
But what lay behind the events last week, and what can we expect in the coming weeks from regional and international actors? To help us untangle the political issues, we once again invite Sami Hamdi back on the programme. Sami Hamdi is the managing director of the International Interest and a ME commentator.
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Sami Hamdi from the episode ‘Israeli’s in Riyadh’ answers the question why Palestine matters.
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How do we revive a strong thinking scholarly tradition?
Our guest this week is Dr. Shuayb Wani, he is the Director and Co-Founder of the Dār Al ‘Ilm Institute https://daralilm.org. His course on the Islamic worldview is currently running and is available online. He grew up in Indian occupied Kashmir and started his quest to learn Islamic ‘Ulūm during his schooling years. He completed his foundational Islāmic Studies in India, and Al-Azhar University, Egypt. He devoted 10 years studying advanced Islāmic Studies specializing in Usūl al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
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The 80's movie Terminator depicts a bleak world where a cyborg assassin is sent to the past to eliminate the mother of an unborn child who holds the key to humanity's salvation. The frightening prospect of machines that can teach themselves and, in the worst-case scenario, machines that are more intelligent than human beings has led senior scientists to raise the alarm about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence and its potential destructive force. For Muslims, AI raises many ethical questions about human society, the economy and, indeed, the potential for AI-inspired ijtihad, machines that tell us how to live our Islamic lives. Are scholars and orators about to go out of business as might taxi drivers and couriers in the coming technological age.
To help us understand the world of AI, we have invited Riaz Hassan onto The Thinking Muslim. Riaz is works in the field of innovation for many years and has had direct and extensive experience in the use of AI and the commercial use of ChatGPT. He has worked on using AI and robotics on one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country. He has responsibility for looking at the wider dimensions of innovations with its associated impacts on our economy.
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 112
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
02:40 - Should we be afraid of AI?
03:38 - What is AI?
05:53 - What differentiates AI from other technology?
07:15 - Types of AI
08:15 - What is generative AI?
10:08 - What is AGI? (Artificial General Intelligence)
11:57 - What to expect after ChatGPT?
14:13 - The issue with driverless cars
15:40 - Imam Ghazali's version of the trolley problem
18:02 - Islamic values in AI
22:08 - Dystopian features of AI
26:50 - America vs. China
29:29 - What professions are going to be replaced?
34:34 - Labour and economy
38:48 - Redefining work
44:26 - Concerns around AI
49:08 - AI in the wrong hands?
51:04 - AI in warfare
53:04 - Can AI do ijtihad?
57:33 - Can acquire consciousness?
1:01:25 - Why AI cannot replace human intelligence
1:06:10 - Tackling crises in faith
1:07:01 - Can a supercomputer become Khalifa?
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To help us understand the great Salahuddin, I have invited Dr Abdul Rahman Azzam onto the show. Dr. Azzam has authored several books, including Saladin: The Triumph of the Sunni Revival. He is a scholar specialising in Islamic history, and we are grateful for his time today.
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Modernity brings with it the promise that ultimate truth can come through reason – a reason that often excludes believers as outside the realm of thinking. Liberalism places religion in a ‘non-reasoned’ bucket, which should be tolerated like all other irrational but ultimately comforting lifestyle choices. This is primarily why there is general animus against anyone who displays an over-exuberance towards belief systems. Such people are described as fundamentalists, unthinking and unable to make their own rational choices.
Our guest this week, Jamie Turner is no stranger to these arguments. He is currently pursuing his doctoral research at the University of Birmingham, looking at Ibn Taymiyyah and natural theology.
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 109
00:00 Introduction
02:11 The idea of fitra
04:47 Fitra from a cognitive pov
05:19 Theistic disposition as natural
12:25 Nature of theistic faculty
13:30 The Mu'tazilite view
14:43 The Hadith about fitra
18:00 Role of environment
20:36 Our role as agents
22:05 The limits of fitra
24:00 Role of revelation
25:41 Convert vs. revert
28:42 Moral intuition
30:35 Journey to Islam
33:38 The role of reason
38:48 Obligation to use reason
45:33 Too much thinking?
47:52 Learning to reason well
49:27 Studying philosophy
51:50 Fitra and moral judgements
53:42 Dawah
55:37 Evidence for God
57:28 Signs in nature and humans
1:00:57 Responding to Stephen Fry
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It is no exaggeration to say that in their quest to malign Islam, some in the West target Muslim women. Her position within the family, her place in society and, of course, her dress are placed under the microscope – and like colonialists in the days of empire, her emancipation is seen to be a means to a greater Islamic reformation. In recent days, France’s minister of education has announced that Abayas, the loose dress many Muslims wear for modesty, will be banned from schools. Apparently, a piece of clothing is an affront to French secularism and, yet again, another sign of separatism. In the UK, the former prime minister likened burka-wearing Muslim women is a those who chose to look like letterboxes and bank robbers.
Young Muslim women are subject to a barrage of what can only be called propaganda, traducing their religious dress and promising to liberate them from their religion. To help us understand how this works and to caution against some of the extremes by which the community can handle this onslaught.
Lauren Booth is a broadcaster turned activist and author. She is known for her principled activism on Palestine and regularly comments on Muslim affairs. Her book, In Search for the Holy Land is available to purchase from all good book stores.
You can find her book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Search-of-Holy-Land/dp/1739384113/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LLEMY7MPD86N&keywords=in+search+of+a+holy+land&qid=1692958858&sprefix=in+search+of+a+holy+land%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1
Her social media here: Lauren Booth: IG/Facebook: @laurenboothofficial. Website: www.laurenbooth.co.uk
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 109
00:00 Introduction
02:20 On Nicky Campbell's review
05:50 Onslaught against Muslim women
07:58 Obsession with women's dress
10:45 Societal Pressure
11:32 Criminalising young Muslim men
13:20 A deliberate agenda
15:38 Navigating the noise around the hijab
19:49 Modernist interpretations of scripture
22:53 Progressive gender ideologies
24:06 How secular society judges women
26:35 Women in Muslim societies
29:52 Muslims leaving the West
34:11 Making the move
36:38 Gender roles
39:17 Living feminism
44:25 Gender wars
46:50 Hyperindividualism
49:43 British politics post Iraq war
51:22 Attending a Muslim event
55:22 Why write a memoir
58:10 Palestine and Isreal
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The so-called Abraham Accords, delivered by the Trump Administration and embraced by Biden, has solidified Israel’s position in the Middle East. To date, normalisation has been enthusiastically embraced by the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. But the United States knows that the ‘prize’ is Saudi Arabia. In recent weeks the mood music has been positive for Americans. It is suggested a deal may be concluded very soon, with the de-facto Saudi leader Muhammad Bin Salman holding out for concessions before he signs on the dotted line.
Our guest this week is Sami Hamdi, the Managing Director of the International Interest, a global risk and intelligence company. He advises governments on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region and has significant expertise in advising companies on commercial issues related to volatile political regions. Sami is also featured as a commentator for Al Jazeera (Arabic and English), Sky News, BBC and TRT World.
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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 108
00:00 Introduction
01:57 Response from last interview
04:59 Importance of political awareness
07:49 Aims of Israel
16:10 Defacto Normalised?
24:20 Commitment to Palestinians?
30:46 Anger on Muslim streets?
36:07 Saudi security aims
45:30 Saudi autonomous?
51:49 US Saudi-China relations?
58:30 US retreat?
1:03:57 Erdogan and Israel
1:11:58 Erdogan’s tactics?
1:16:55 Palestinians?
1:24:41 How important is Palestine?
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Muslims worldwide have come to the realisation that the prevailing capitalist economic system does not serve us ethically. With its interest-based banking and casino-style financial instruments, a devout believer has no choice but to attempt to escape its haram, even if that hinders the progress and prosperity of our daily lives. In recent years, Islamic finance has been touted as an ethical alternative. A way to escape the haram riba based economy. Some have even presented it as an alternative to financial capitalism. The rationale behind these products is to accommodate the detailed Shariah rulings on trade and many Islamic scholars have endorsed products that Western financial institutes and governments have embraced. Our guest today was an Islamic finance industry insider. Harris Irfan is currently the CEO of Cordoba Capital Markets https://www.ccmkts.com. He has 29 years of investment banking and consulting experience. He was the former co-founder of Deutsche Bank's world-leading Islamic finance team and CEO of Deutsche's Islamic finance subsidiary. He is the Former Global Head of Islamic Finance at Barclays, and then Head of Investment Banking for the Rasmala group. He is also the author of "Heaven's Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance", the critically acclaimed best-seller about the Islamic finance industry.
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India’s 200 million Muslims are at the mercy of an ultra-nationalist government that looks to create an exclusively Hindu Bharat or homeland. Since the rise of the BJP government, led by Narendra Modi, Muslims have been subject to discrimination, alienation, daily religious abuse, economic marginalisation, state-sanctioned mob violence and pogroms like in Gujarat in 2002. This Hindu nationalism is underpinned by a pernicious cultural and political ideology, Hindutva, framed by antagonism towards Islam and a rewriting of Indian history.
Our guest this week, Professor Irfan Ahmed, will help us understand the precarious state of India’s Muslims and the Hindutva ideology. Born in India, he now lives in Istanbul, where he is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Ibn Haldun University. Before Istanbul, he was a research professor in Germany at Max Plank Institute, and he has taught anthropology and politics in the Netherlands and Australia. He has written numerous books and articles on India and Islam and recently published a provocative piece on Hindu Orientalism.
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Japan is a country that is known for its deep connection with tradition. Much of its rich culture comes from its adherence to two religious beliefs, Shintoism and Buddhism but it has also been influenced by Confucianism. The Japanese value purity and cleanliness. Unlike western individualism, Japanese culture places a great deal of attention on the group and mutual respect with a strong emphasis on harmony and balance. Although globalisation has brought with it westernisation, there is still an emphasis on learning Japanese customs at an early age, such as practicing the tea ceremony, wearing kimono and studying arts and crafts. Our guest today, Dr Naoki Yamamoto converted to Islam 14 years ago. He is now an academic at Istanbul’s Marmara University and helps a growing number of Japanese converts acclimatise to their Islamic commitments. Many of whom attend classes in this city. Dr Naoki argues that for Islam to be successful in Japan, it needs to work in harmony with Japanese culture. Indeed he is known in Istanbul for demonstrating the tea ceremony. We discuss Muslim converts in Japan and the themes he raises of cultural harmony and Islam. Can Islam adopt the cultural heritage of Japan?Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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There is a growing interest in Ottoman history. This has come from a recognition that an understanding of our Islamic history is necessary to carve our common Islamic future. But then the question arises, who writes this history? How do we know whether Ottoman historians, East and West, are purveyors of an orientalist narrative, slanted to match political interests? To untangle the facts from fiction, we have invited Dr Yakoob Ahmed who is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He is a PhD graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies and currently teaches Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is in the process of completing his first book on the late Ottoman ulema, to be published next year.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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We often hear from Muslims that our ummah suffers from disunity on a local, national, and international level. Slight differences of opinion can cause major divisions. Our countries remain deeply divided between themselves and there is an impression that has consolidated that we will not be able to recover our position. This situation has led to despondency. Helplessness and in the extreme an acceptance of the status quo. But is this written? Is there anything we can do about this parlous situation? Have we come to the end of Muslim civilisation and are we now merely managing decline? Are we waiting for the Mahdi, a leader who will change our situation? Or is there anything we can do about our predicament? To help us understand the issues of unity and division from an Islamic perspective we have invited Shaykh Dr. Shuayb Wani. Dr. Shuayb Wani is the Director and Co-Founder of the Dār Al ‘Ilm Institute. He grew up in Indian-occupied Kashmir and started his quest to learn Islamic ‘Ulūm during his schooling years. He completed his foundational Islāmic Studies in India, and Al-Azhar University, Egypt. He devoted 10 years studying advanced Islāmic Studies specializing in Usūl al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. He holds a Ph.D in : “The Legal Thought of Imam al-Shafi‘i” which was published in 2021. He has 20 years experience of teaching Islamic ulum. He lives in Istanbul with his family.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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You can write to Dr Aafia via her lawyer on email clive@3dc.org.uk
The deadline for the first round of letters is 1/8/23 - you can still send letters after this date for future visits.
Please place in the subject of the email: Thinking Muslim letter for Aafia.Clive has set up a crowdfunding page for a monthly standing order/debit for Aafia; this is to pay for a young Pakistani researcher to help on the case and to fund the trips to the US etc. Use - https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/freeaafia/backers#startAlthough the war on terror is now a distant memory to many Americans, it’s horrible residue remains. The incarceration of Aafia Siddiqui, a brilliant academic and mother of three, has become a symbol of its excesses, of which there were many. She languishes in prison, serving an 86-year sentence for an offence that looks barely credible, the attempted murder of two US officials in Afghanistan in 2008. Her whereabouts before that date remain murky, and so does the welfare of her youngest son Suleman – who has not been seen since her detention in 2003. To help us unpick the facts, we have invited Aafias lawyer Clive Stafford Smith to shed light on what happened to Aafia and her children. Clive has helped secure the release of 86 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and still acts for the remaining numbers. Since the early days of the War on Terror, he has worked tirelessly to force the Americans and other Western powers to adhere to the rule of law. He has sought to uncover the secret prisons and ghost prisoners that stain the reputation of powerful states – who presented their wars in benevolent terms.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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France’s estimated six million strong Muslims are subject to daily inhuman treatment at the hands of a militant secular state. Islam as a faith has long been traduced and othered, exceptionalised as a religion that must be chastened by French enlightenment. It is this context that we observe with horror the recent episode of brutality. Seventeen year old Nahel Merzouk was killed at point blank range for a minor traffic infraction. His death, normally another statistic, was caught on camera and led to days of protests and rioting. To help us make sense of this tragic week, we have invited back onto The Thinking Muslim Rayan Freschi. Rayan is a legal expert and researcher for Cage International and he has recently authored a disturbing report on the French government’s policy of “systematic obstruction” of the Muslim community. He recently wrote a piece for Middle East Eye analysing these tragic events.
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Theres a growing movement in Europe and North America to reconsider where the future of Muslim communities lie. In recent years, a host of security and social concerns have brought to question just how much Muslims can maintain their commitments to Islam and leave peacefully in a society that constantly looks for opportunities to marginalise Islamic practice. The Liberal state is intent on secularising and liberalising Muslims. This has led to a call for Hijra, or migration away from the west and back to the Muslim world. Thomas Abdul Qadir is the former president of the Majlis of Istanbul Muslims, an organisation that caters for foreign Muslims living in istanbul. They organise talks and activities to foster a community. He has a masters in civilisational studies from Ibn Haldun University – and is currently pursuing traditional Islamic education.As always, you can comment your thoughts below.Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com#TheThinkingMuslimPodcastThe Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 100
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Many Muslims living in the West have become aware that the ideas of tolerance, individualism, liberal multiculturalism and freedom of religion – all liberal notions — have their limits when it comes to our community. A series of tensions, from depictions of the Messenger (saw) in offensive cartoons and the teaching of sexual practices at odds with our faith in schools, has brought into focus how there remains an incompatibility between the ever-increasing demands of the liberal state and the Muslim community. To help us understand these tensions, Imam Tom Facchine, an imam and convert to Islam helps us understand the liberal state. He finished his BA in Political Science and was granted the opportunity to study at the Islamic University of Madinah from 2015-2020, where he obtained his BA from the Faculty of Shariah. Imam Tom is the Research Director of Islam and Society at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He is also a resident scholar and imam of Utica Masjid (New York state).
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The issue of the caliphate has recently made a resurgence within Muslim discourse. For nearly 100 years the Muslim ummah has been without a caliphate, and many have come to the view that the world of empires is behind us, and we now must embrace the era of nation-states. Yet the issue remains a live one, Islam and Muslims have remained tortured by our lack of ability to resolve some of the most intractable problems we face – leading to the suggestion that establishing a post-nation state brings together our resources, people and potential. Dr. Uthman Badar has been thinking about the concerns of the caliphate. He is the lead editor at the Ummatics Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Western Sydney University in 2023, where he currently teaches. He is also an active Muslim community member in Sydney, Australia, with over two decades of engagement in grassroots activism and da’wah.
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For twenty years, the United States fought an unwinnable and ultimately self-defeating war in Afghanistan – only to withdraw in a humiliating way in 2021. The conflict ended what many saw to be a colonial enterprise. We explore that war, where it leaves Afghanistan, the region's geopolitics, Afghanistans relationship with Pakistan and the role of the Taliban. Many see the austere Islamic group as classic freedom fighters, defeating the world's strongest and only superpower. But have they ultimately disappointed many in their time in government.? The country suffers from poverty and near famine. Who is to blame for this terrible situation? Ahmed-Waleed Kakar is no stranger to the country. Of Afghan descent, he is an analyst specialising in Afghan political history and the founder and editor-in-chief of The Afghan Eye @AFGHANEYE : an independent media platform offering English-language analysis of Afghan affairs.
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This week we explore the issues Farhat Amin raises in her new book ‘Smart Teenage Muslimah, an inspirational guide for Muslim Girls’. Farhat is concerned with Muslim girls' challenges in the West and how society impacts their sense of identity and self. Farhat Amin addresses the challenges Muslim women and girls face in Western societies through her engagements. Her writings delve into the unfiltered realities, tackling pressing topics such as the shifting dynamics of the Muslim marriage scene, the objectification of hijab, and the unforeseen impact of modern feminism on women's well-being. Her meticulous research and insightful analysis offer a fresh Islamic perspective on these topics, encouraging readers to question long-held assumptions and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Find out more about Farhat Amin's work and sign up for her newsletter at https://smartmuslima.comPurchase Smart Teenage Muslimah from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/42D20SV
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We often see people claim an action to be kufr (disbelief), for example, neglecting prayer, or they designate a use of language to be a term of disbelief. This leads to questioning a person's iman. A politician endorses a reprehensible act, or a Muslim academic calls for the reform of Islam – these are all discussed as attributes of kufr. So what is disbelief and what is belief, and does every act of disbelief take a person outside of Islam? We take a deep dive into this often misunderstood area and reflect on the differences within classical Islam. Iyad Hilal is a khateeb at many masajid in California, he has formally studied usal al fiqh – Islamic legal theory and is the author of the book studies in usul al-fiqh.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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There has been an uptick in the number of people converting to Islam recently. This was very noticeable in Ramadan, when it just seemed every day, a young man was becoming Muslim. Imam Ashraf, who leads a congregation in the inner-city London borough of Lewisham, discusses why so many British youngsters are turning to Islam. His Mosque saw over 60 conversions in Ramadan alone. I ask him about the influence of Andrew Tate upon many young men coming to Islam. Imam Ashraf Dabous is an imam at Lewisham Mosque in London. He studied at the Islamic University of Madinah. He also studied privately under various Shuyukh – studying Hanbali and Hanafi Fiqh and other Sciences. And he recently graduated from Goldsmiths University with an MSc in CBT therapy and is a qualified councilor.
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Inspiration from Sami Hamdi. How do we contextualise the current state of the Ummah? And how do we interact with politics?Excerpt from 'Raving in Riyadh - The New Saudi Arabia' with Sami Hamdi
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From its first moments, Islam was linked to a state-building process, and the shari’ah explicitly addresses rules that can only be discharged by a government, such as the rules of hudud or apostasy. Imam Ghazali even linked the collection of zakat and the marriage contract contingent on having an Islamic government. For the long duration of Islamic history, Muslims in most Muslim lands have lived under Islamic caliphates and empires. However, how much of this is less to do with religion and more with the circumstances early Muslims found themselves in? Is Islam wedded to its ‘founding moment’ –politics fused with a spiritual foundation?In this episode, we comprehensively examine Islam and politics with Dr Yasir Qadhi. We explore Muslim engagement in politics in the West, its pitfalls, and the vexed issue of politicians that embrace and celebrate socially liberal positions. We also consider the issue of reviving the caliphate, its obligation and its priority.
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From the war in Yemen to raves in Riyadh, political analyst Sami Hamdi analyses the ‘modern’ Saudi Arabia as a regional power. Many see the country to be a staunch ally, even stooge of the United States, yet others hail its recent strategic turn under Muhammad Bin Salman as a sign that at last the country is looking to forge an independent path. From moon sighting to Hajj, the country remains at the centre of Muslim religious life, yet we can’t but observe with horror the activities of its crown prince and de facto leader and his vanity infrastructure projects such as NEOM. So how do we analyse the country and its future.
Sami Hamdi is the Managing Director of the International Interest, a global risk and intelligence company. He advises governments on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region and has significant expertise in advising companies on commercial issues related to volatile political environments and their implications on market entry, market expansion, and managing of stakeholders. Sami is also featured as a commentator for Aljazeera (Arabic and English), Sky News, BBC, TRT World, and other outlets.
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Paul Williams of Blogging Theology talks to Muhammad Jalal about his ten most influential books, why he recommends them and the importance of reading. Titles mentioned in order of rank: 1. The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali2. Islam and the Destiny of Man by Charles Le Gai Eaton3. The Book of Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Mishkat Al Masabih selected by Charles Le Gai Eaton 4. Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age by Dale C. Allison Jr.5. Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation by Carl Sharif El-Tobgui6. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Teachings by Martin Lings7. Misquoting Muhammad by Jonathan A.C. Brown 8. The Oxford Book of English Verse edited by Christopher Ricks 9. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant 10. The Making of a Salafi Muslim Woman by Anabel IngeThis Ramadan please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact.
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The recent atrocity at al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan underscores the brutality of Israel’s settler colonial project. Our guest this week, Palestinian and Islamic activist Dr Azzam Tamimi gave us a background to the apartheid policies of the state and explained why he believes, ultimately, the severity of Israel’s brutality only serves to express its sheer failure as a project. Azzam Tamimi is a British Palestinian academic and political activist. He is currently the Chairman of Alhiwar TV Channel and is its Editor in Chief. He is a prolific writer and public speaker.This Ramadan please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate
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The great Damascene scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751/1350) authored the masterpiece of Islamic psychology Madarij al-Salikin, (Ranks of the Divine Seekers). It sets out the great Hanbalite's advice on how to journey to Allah and reach the ranks of a loving believer of our Lord. Professor Ovamir Anjum, the translator into English of this great work, talks to The Thinking Muslim about Ibn Qayyim’s spiritual perspectives, including the wisdom of sin, what attributes a believer should shun and acquire, the multiple stations on the route to this journey and the role of obedience to Allah for spiritual felicity.Dr. Ovamir Anjum is the Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Toledo. He obtained his Ph.D. in Islamic Intellectual history in the Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Masters in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and Masters in Computer Science and Bachelors in Nuclear Engineering and Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before higher education, his Islamic training began at home while growing up in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States with a broad range of scholars, including his remarkable grandmother, and continued as he studied fiqh with South Asian Ḥanafī and Ahl-e-hadīs scholars and usūl al-fiqh and qirā’āt of the Quran with scholars from Egypt’s Al-Azhar and Syria. He currently leads the Ummatics Institute and is the Editor in-Chief of Yaqeen Institute.
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This fascinating interview with Dr Sohail Hanif looks to uncover the secrets of Ramadan. What should the month indeed mean to believers? And what should we be striving to achieve this month? How should we treat its minutes and hours? And how do we know whether, as the hadith suggests, we have lost its blessings or gained success out of it? Dr Sohail is the Chief Executive of the National Zakat Foundation. He previously held the position of BA Manager and Lecturer at Cambridge Muslim College and has also held the position of Head of Sciences at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman. He studied extensively with traditional scholars and holds a PhD from Oxford University. His PhD thesis, which explores Islamic legal epistemology, won the 2019 prize of the British Association for Islamic Studies. He has lectured widely on Islamic law and Qur’anic studies in academic, public and traditional settings.
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Dr Imran Waheed is a consultant psychiatrist who specialises in acute mental health cases. We ask him about the mental health crisis, whether the lack of iman has a role in its prevalence and whether Islam has role in its cure. We look at consumer capitalism and sadness, the absence of community and faith and how one can build mental resilience.
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Dr Jonathan Brown joins us this week to engage in an in-depth discussion about the Hadith corpus and why contemporary arguments forwarded by orientalists and modernists lack rigour. He takes us on a journey of informed exploration of some of the key personalities and thinkers of early Islam and the lengths they went through to determine the veracity of a tradition attributed to the Messenger of Allah (saw).
His books include The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon, Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (Oneworld, 2009) and His most recent book, Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy (Oneworld, 2014), was named one of the top books on religion in 2014 by the Independent. He is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
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99 years ago, the Ottoman Caliphate, the world's last widely recognised caliphate, was abolished on 3 March 1924 (27 Rajab 1342 AH) by decree of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The process was one of Atatürk's reforms following the replacement of the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey. Abdulmejid II was deposed as the last Ottoman caliph, as was Mustafa Sabri as the last Ottoman shaykh al-Islām.
We explore the circumstances that led to this momentous event. Why the Ottoman caliphate fell. What this date should mean to us? And the impact this decision had on Muslims at the time and has on us today.
Dr Yakoob Ahmed holds a PhD graduate from SOAS, University of London. An Ottoman historian, he is currently teaching Islamic history at Istanbul University and was a visiting fellow at the Modern Turkish Studies Centre at Istanbul Şehir University. His research focuses are Muslim intellectual thought in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Islamic constitutionalism, identity, nationalism and collective memory construction.
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The British Conservative government has for some time embarked upon a project to make life difficult for ordinary Muslims. We have spoken previously about its policy of Prevent, an extraordinary state plan to compel all public servants to monitor Muslims in their midst and report on them if they showed signs of extremism. This project has enveloped the community within a cloud of suspicion, spread fear and self censorship and led to a series of malicious or ignorant allegations that has scarred thousands.
The project has failed to root out violent extremism and has alienated a large number of Muslims, yet the response of the government is to tighten the screws. It’s failure is because it is not punitive enough according to the Home Secretary. This is where the new Shawcross review comes in. William Shawcross, known for his anti-Islamic opinions was cynically commissioned to lead an independent review into Prevent and suggest a way forward. The report suggests that normative Muslim positions should be viewed with suspicion, including believing that Islam should be the basis of one’s identity.
Dr Layla Aitlhadj, my guest today, has been a tenacious campaigner to expose the extent of to which the government has violated the most basic rights of ordinary Muslim citizens. Her organisation Prevent Watch has helped countless Muslim families that have been caught up in this net of accusation. We ask her about the Shawcross review and its implications with some truly chilling revelations.
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The sadness we feel after the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria is heightened by our Ummatic feelings of closeness to the worldwide muslim community. Many of those affected have been subject to years of civil war at the hands of a brutal dictator. Sadly, this is yet another disaster that has befallen this Umma and we pray that Allah has mercy on those that died and enter them into a place where there is eternal peace. This week we interview Dr Omar Suleiman to discuss the issue of earthquakes and whether they are a punishment from Allah, as many ascribe to these natural events or whether they are a test. Human beings can never understand the wisdom of Allah (swt) and we are without knowledge of the ultimate good and bad impacts of natural disasters.
We ask Dr Suleiman to give us an understanding of the texts from the Quran and sunna that explain these events to us. Sadly, many especially in the West who may have not consolidated their Iman on a strong footing, question the wisdom of Allah and fail to develop the intellectual and spiritual resilience that is required to be a believer. We tackle how to build up this store of resilience. We also take the opportunity to discuss some of his political views on the broader Syrian civil war and the inconsistencies in some political activists. As always, you can comment your thoughts below. You can donate to the show here:
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The war on terror, a US-led strategy that saw deadly interventions in the Muslim world, has transformed a generation of Muslims. Some, like my guest today, unwittingly got caught up in this mindless campaign and 21 years after the events of 9/11, we still feel the aftereffects of programmes that placed every Muslim in categories, moderate or extreme, good and bad, loyal or disloyal.
Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo detainee upon his release, has been a tireless campaigner for the truth, exposing its lies and deceits. In the process, he and his organisation CAGE international have tactically contacted non-Muslim sympathisers and wider Human Rights organisations. But I asked him about the risks involved in this strategy. Many a time, Muslims that receive such support are forced to compromise. The left wants Islam to change and come with various social positions we find problematic. The right often possesses a chauvinism that calls upon Muslims to accept a secondary role in society. I ask Moazzam to conceptualise how he navigates these binaries.
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After a brief pause, we are back and now on YouTube video. In this episode, we explore with Hamza Tzortzis the crisis of the modern Muslim man. We live in a fast-paced world dominated by technology. Social media has enhanced our lives and given space for Muslims to build networks, raise the profile of beleaguered members of our ummah and forward the call of Islam.
With the goodness that comes from this compression of time and space, there are also challenges. In their eagerness to contribute to da’wah, many young men often lack the necessary characters to meet its requirements. Borrowing from the worst marketing strategies, they employ click-bait, shock and awe tactics and cheap stunts as a shortcut to achieve electronic likes and fame. Response videos and futile debates are used to curry favour with their growing base.
Hamza Tzortsis shares the same concerns about this approach to dawah. We ask him about his journey and how he believes the community must address the absence of good mentoring and a programme of personal development. We also discuss the general perceptions, right or wrong, about young Muslim men.
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Joram van Klaveren understands the far right in Europe, this is because he was one of them. As a leading member of Geert Wilder’s Dutch Freedom Party and MP in parliament, he argued for a Netherlands without Islam. This was until he decided to write a book to attack Islam, and his research ultimately led him to embrace the faith. Today he calls for Europe to reconsider its irrational hatred towards Muslims. I ask him to tell us his story, address immigration and explain how the far-right functions.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Mobeen Vaid has been at the forefront of addressing the creeping liberalisation of social attitudes of the Muslim community and how these opinions often are way out of sync with the global Muslim ummah and Islam. Mobeen’s erudite commentary has looked to counter and critique these trends and today he lectures at Mosques and community centres across the US.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Prevent, a statutory duty of all public officials, looks to find what the government calls signs of radicalisation. Often, these indicators are conflated with Islamic practice or subject to the prejudices of teachers and other officials that have been whipped up in a McCarthyite-style frenzy.Dr Layla Aitlhadj is the Director of PreventWatch, she Is an academic and activist who has been following the trail of mayhem caused by Prevent and has for years held the government to account. Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.Join our Telegram group here: https://t.me/thinkingmuslimYou can donate to the show here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contributeFollow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimWebsite Archive: thinkingmuslim.com -
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The journalist Peter Oborne stands out as one of the few defenders of our community in the mainstream press. Over the past two decades he has worked tirelessly to speak truth to power. He is currently a writer for the Middle East Eye and was named as British Press Awards Columnist of the Year in 2013. Previously he worked as the chief political columnist of the Daily Telegraph until he resigned in 2015. His latest book is The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam, which takes a look at the often-opaque world of the Islamophobia industry. Importantly, Oborne is a conservative and until 2019 was a member of the Conservative Party until he resigned in disgust at Boris Johnson’s leadership.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Imam Dawud Walid has recently published a serious contribution to the subject of manhood. He argues that the rich classical scholarly works detailing how to bring up young men have been forgotten. This sacred idea of chivalry may look out of place in modernity, but it produced well-balanced young men that combine courage with humility, strength with forgiveness and public duty with prayer. Imam Dawud Walid believes Islamic masculinity is not naturally acquired but has to come from revelation and reinforced by models of manhood within families and communities. He has recently authored a brilliant book titled, Futuwwah: and raising males into sacred manhood. A timely contribution to the topic.
You can follow Imam Dawud Walid's Telegram group here https://t.me/dawudwalid
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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This is a repeat of a show first published in early 2020
Death has become a part of our everyday lives. Covid-19 and its spread have brought home to us the undeniable reality that we are mortal beings and our accumulation of wealth, prestige and power will come to an end. How we think about death impacts on how we think about life. So how should death be conceptualised? How should we really remember death, beyond the occasional thoughts about it? How do we make death our partners and our guide in conditioning our present? To understand this idea, I have invited Kamal Abu Zahra – a lecturer in Islamic studies, currently completing his PhD in looking at the minority fiqh and its compatibility with classical notions of scholarship. I ask Kamal some searching questions about death and how we should see it, how we should confront its claims upon us, and how we should address it when death falls on someone close to us.
Thanks to the team: Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam. You can donate to the show here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contribute Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim Website: thinkingmuslim.com
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Our guest this week, Professor Ovamir Anjum argues that any future reconstruction of this sacred institution has to be premised upon what he calls an Ummatics framework, an ummah-centric model. He argues that the rashidun model was fundamentally based on the consent of the ummah, and through shura, that is, consultation, and this is how the earlier caliphs successfully built an empire unlike any other. In this interview, Muhammad Jalal asks him to spell out what it means to think in an ummatic way and elucidate on the practicalities.Ovamir Anjum is the Imam Khattab Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy, University of Toledo; he wrote the article ‘Who Wants a Caliphate’ found here: https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/who-wants-the-caliphateOur 2019 interview with Prof. Anjum here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcast/17The Ummatics Colloquium website can be found here: https://ummaticscolloquium.org Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.You can donate to the show here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contributeFollow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimWebsite: thinkingmuslim.com - Join our Telegram group here: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim
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Our guest this week is an insider turned sceptic. Harris Irfan takes on the essential purpose and complexities of Islamic finance and questions whether it has fulfilled its lofty Islamic objectives. Harris is the author of “Heaven’s Bankers: Inside the hidden world of Islamic Finance”.In this discussion with Riaz Hasan, he talks candidly about how much Islamic finance depends on a capitalist riba-based architecture. He recalls his part in acquiring funding for the Makkah clock tower, a project he now regrets. This is a fascinating look at the players and motives of an industry. Harris also offers his views on Bitcoin as a more Islamic alternative above the gold standard, traditionally accepted as a stable shariah-based currency.Thanks to the team: Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.You can donate to the show here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contributeFollow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimWebsite: thinkingmuslim.com
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Is there a problem with Muslim public intellectuals and scholars that engage with the political right? My guest this week, Yayha Birt, believes that white convert scholars that interact with the likes of Jordan Peterson should evaluate whether they risk confirming their anti-Islam prejudices and a distasteful pro-white ideology that today undergirds the populist white nativist backlash. In a recent piece he penned, found here: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/the-unbearable-whiteness-of-being-convert-leaders-in-the-west-and-the-new-ethno-nationalism/ Birt, a Muslim convert, is critical of those that belong to the neo-traditionalist school, an Islamic persuasion he shares, who need to ask more profound questions about their outreach activities with the right-wing and whether by doing so they undermine second and third generation Muslims who face racial and religious hatred in the mainstream.
Yahya Birt is a research director at the Ayaan Institute in London and is a community historian who has taught at the University of Leeds. He has published over a dozen peer-reviewed articles on Islam in Britain and co-edited British Secularism and Religion (2016), Islam in Victorian Liverpool (2021) and The Collected Poems of Abdullah Quilliam (2021).
His most recent book on Abdullah Quilliam can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Islam-Victorian-Liverpool-Britains-Community/dp/1800119828/
More about Yahya Birt here https://ayaaninstitute.com/yahya-birt/
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Our guests this week, distinguished in their fields take a deeper look at the issues arising from the revocation of abortion as a constitutional right. What exactly is the position of shari’ah regarding abortion? What did the classical scholars say about the issue and is there a difference with more modern takes? How do we appreciate the political context of the Supreme Court decision and what are the social repercussions? My guests have a rich background and expertise and as you know, this podcast wants to move our thinking away from the ill-informed vox pop style contributions everyone seems to want to make without the depth of study required.
Dr Tahseen Shareef is a US based physician specialising in internal medicine. She started two Islamic schools in her home state California, delivers Islamic circles to women, and is currently pursuing Islamic studies on top of her busy clinical responsibilities. Iyad Hilal is an author of an acclaimed book on Usul al Fiqh and regular Friday khateeb at Mosques in California.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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The trojan horse affair upended education policy in the UK and gave rise to one of the most problematic policies, the prevent duty. If you haven’t already, The New York Times Serial podcast on the subject is worth a listen – Tahir and his colleagues were vindicated as concerned parents caught up in a systematic programme of islamophobia.
Riaz Hasan and Muhammad Jalal caught up with Tahir Alam - the man at the centre of the scandal - to try to understand the broader motivations of government and others hell bent on tuning back the tide of young Muslim achievement and in the process stoking Islamophobia.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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You can donate to the show here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contributeIs modernity destroying the human mind? This is the question we ask our guest this week, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad (Dr Tim Winters of the Cambridge Muslim College). Many of us are fortunate to live in a world where every desire we have are met yet curiously our ability to process these blessings leads many to a dark place, a state of mental anguish. It seems the more we have the less happy we are. The more we live in concrete jungles the more anxious we become. This begs a larger question, is there a fundamental problem with the way we live, is there a problem with modernity?Dr Tim Winters is Founder and Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, Aziz Foundation Professor of Islamic Studies at both Cambridge Muslim College and Ebrahim College, Director of Studies at Wolfson College and Lecturer of Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at University of Cambridge. He has translated classical works including a translation of two volumes of the Islamic scholar al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din. Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimWebsite: thinkingmuslim.com
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At the time of this episode’s release, the outcome of the French presidential election has yet to be announced. It is likely the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, will come back to office, once again defeating his hard-right rival Marine Le Pen. Many Muslims may breathe a sigh of relief, Le Pen stands out as a viscerally anti-Muslim candidate in a country where it’s hard to find any moderate voices. But in many ways, Macron’s return to power is meaningless for the Muslim community in France. For all the calls for greater political participation, the choice for many is between one form of Islamophobia over another.
Muslims in France find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place. Today, our guest, Rayan Freschi, a legal expert and researcher for CageUK has recently authored a disturbing report on the French government’s policy of “systematic obstruction” of the Muslim community. He uncovers how the French state under Macron has targeted peaceful Muslims, shut down Mosques, closed charities, hounded Islamic schools and made it impossible for civil society to operate independently from the state. His report, found in the show notes, makes a chilling read. Rayan tells me that the French state is shutting down Islam in France. We talk about how this systematic obstruction has manifested and the consequence for Europe’s largest Muslim community.
Download the report here https://www.cage.ngo/we-are-beginning-to-spread-terror-report
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Zakat is often mischaracterised as merely the act of paying individual alms. In reality it is a sophisticated system of wealth redistribution and spiritual sacrifice that helps to nurture a true Muslim fraternity. It is customary to pay Zakat in Ramadan, as this is when the reward is greatest for all deeds but also the heightened sense of brotherhood and the absence of Shaytaan’s whispers asking us to hold back, means that charitable donations flood various causes.
But what is Zakat? To whom can it be paid? How do we calculate Zakat? Which organisations can we offer our money to? What if we have debt? These questions and more will be answered by my learned guest today. Dr Osman Umarji is a director at Yaqeen Institute, he is also a Professor in the School of Education at UC Irvine and has studied at Al Azhar university.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominates the news. This audacious attack on a neighbouring country has shocked Europe with its sheer brutality. Of course, Muslims have experience of Russia’s tactics in war, from Grozny in Chechnya to East Aleppo and beyond – the Russian military machine is neither guided by morality nor humanity. In Aleppo alone, some 30,000 civilians were slaughtered, leaving the few that remained to painfully evacuate their city.
But when all is said about the double standards, Muslims are confronted with two big questions, how should we understand the crisis and how should we respond. Sadly on both counts many have opted to either embrace the left’s anti-imperialism narrative and in turn sound like they sympathise or support Putin’s actions.
This week invite back onto The Thinking Muslim, Professor of International Relations Joseph Kaminski from the International University of Sarajevo. Joseph speaks to me about the crisis, how to view the actions of America and the impact upon Muslims in Bosnia, who are once again facing a belligerent Serbian movement, supported by Russia. He also passionately discusses some of the takes that have been circulating the Muslim twitter-sphere.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahmed Serag, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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We are back after a short pause.
Britain for the past 21 years has been overtaken by what can only be described as a national hysteria. The recent jaw-dropping investigation by the New York Times Serial podcast into the so-called Trojan Horse affair in Birmingham, revealed how this hysteria translated into a deep-seated national display of Islamophobia.
Fahad Ansari is a lawyer and public activist, who in his professional career has defended many Muslims who have fallen foul of Britain’s nationality laws, including very high-profile cases of citizenship deprivation.
Dr Rob Faure Walker is an academic and author specialising in critiquing Britain’s anti-terror educational policy, also known as Prevent. His book can be found here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-emergence-of-extremism/dr-rob-faure-walker/9781350199507
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahmed Serag, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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This past week marks twenty years since the opening of the infamous detention centre, Guantanamo Bay. It remains a symbol of the hollowness of the very values that underpin the liberal world order. Camp X ray was to house dangerous ‘jihadists’, a nebulous general term that is used to describe those foreign fighters that would for no 'explicable' reason travel to distant parts of the world to fight other peoples wars. Within time, the term came to explain a universal ideology, from Bosnia to Afghanistan, Palestine to Kashmir – those that crossed national boundaries to fight for an oppressed ummah were lumped into a singular narrative, stripped of acceptable political motives and removed of their humanity.
Dr Daryl Li is a practicing lawyer and anthropologist who has written a brilliant work on global jihad mobilisation in Bosnia. His book, titled The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity, challenges the prevailing narrative – and attempts to ask more searching and important questions. Joining us is Professor Ovamir Anjum, who reflects on Dr Li’s work and the broader themes that come from it.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahmed Serag, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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Today we invite back Dr Shadee Elmasry, Imam and community leader who has worked tirelessly at the local level to develop strong communities premised upon an Islamic framework. We ask Dr Shadee to spell out the importance of communities in Islam and how the modern maladies that come from individualism can be remedied.
Thanks to the team: Riaz Hasan, Musab Muhammad, Reem Walid, Adeel Alam, Yusra Zainuddin, Ahmed Serag, Ahaz Atif and Umar Abdul Salam.
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The Sahel, a region spanning the countries of West Africa, has been rocked by instability for the past few years. There is what the West calls an Islamist insurgency that has provoked international intervention, from France (the former colonial power) but also the United States. The region is one of the richest in the world in terms of natural resources, including oil, gold and uranium. Yet it’s one of the poorest in the world, the proceeds of these extractive industries rarely reaches the people.
This week, we talk to Dr Alex Thurston, a specialist in the region, and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati to explain why the Sahel is important. Alex has written extensively about the Sahel and is an authority, regularly contributing to reports and discussions.
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In this second part of an extended interview with Ottoman historian, Dr Yakoob Ahmed from Istanbul University, we take a look at some of the challenges and controversies that are associated with the ulema during the latter period of the Ottoman Empire. We ask Dr Ahmed to explain why it is said that the ulema were an obstruction to the progress of the Caliphate and scrutinise the claims that the ulema outlawed the printing press and coffee.
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In this two part show we talk Dr Yakoob Ahmed from Istanbul University about the relationship between the ulema (scholars) and the Ottoman empire. Were they mere political apparatchiks, steeped in the power and patronage of powerful sultans?
In this first part we take a look at the Ottoman ulema in the early period, the issue of the 'caliphate', Sultan Fatih's ilmiyah reforms and Sultan Selim's defeat of the Mamluks and the response of the Arab ulema and the independence of the ulema system.
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As you all know, this podcast is no stranger to dissecting the narrative forwarded by liberals in general and those within our community that self-identify as Muslim liberals. And if you know me you would know that I don’t particularly find the modernist narrative appealing nor elegant in their appeals to what I and I think most Muslims see as the ideas of an incoherent worldview that has undermined human societies the world over.
With these caveats in mind, this episode we dedicate to a discussion with an American Muslim liberal, Dr Shadi Hamid. I have followed his work for some years and although we part company on a number of issues, as you will hear, I do feel Shadi is a reluctant liberal, open to criticise not only those inconsistencies he witnesses but also he attempts to make sense of American foreign policy in light of his values and I am not sure he is always successful in reaching a satisfactory answer.
We discuss American liberalism, the trends towards nativism, exemplified in the near re-election of Donald Trump last year but also how he reconciles his liberal worldview with his Islamic faith, which I know he thinks a lot about.
Shadi has written a number of books on the Muslim world, this is where he made his name in American political and academic circles, so we spend time talking about the attitudes of Muslims in the Muslim world towards Islam as well as the often-simplistic way US policy treats the Middle East and Islamic parties.
For more links to Shadi Hamid's biography and works, please view the Insights page on the show
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Since the demise of the Ottoman Caliphate, the Muslim world has moved from one crisis to another. The parlous state of the ummah is now the subject of many discussions and numerous Islamic groups have attempted to find the magic formula to reverse this decline. Invariably and correctly, the subject of a return to Islamic governance has become a rallying call for many that seek to return to a place where the ummah was a leading one.
Yet recently, the rise of ISIS and the return to the Taliban government has given us two very different yet for some, very troubling models of how a shariah ruled state should run. Beyond these examples, contemporary Islamic study on the topic either negates well-known Islamic precedents found in our tradition or offers models of authoritarianism where a caliph has the control over all and is one step away from repression.
Today we have brought together two Islamic thinkers and scholars that have been working for some time on rethinking Islamic governance. Ustadh Iyad Hilal is no stranger to this show, he is an instructor at the al-Arqam Institute in California and is a regular imam and khateeb at Masajids across his state. Kamal Hussain is a lecturer and legal expert who recently delivered a paper to academics and scholars on ‘al Sultan-al Ummah’ the authority of the Ummah, he argues that this Islamic principle has been lost over time, with many theorists viewing the role of the people as no more than passive citizens in a caliphate structure.
An earlier version of this episode had some formatting errors. This has now been fixed.
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This week we bring together two commentators and analysts to make sense of the regional and international dimensions to the crisis. Sami Hamdi is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Interest. An experienced geopolitical analysts, he is a frequent guest on Aljazeera, Sky News, TRT World, and other outlets. Ibrahim Moiz is a writer and researcher on South Asia with considerable insight into Afghanistan and Pakistan. He writes for TRT World and other outlets. We consider the events of the past twenty years and what next for America and the Muslim world.
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This episode we bring together two scholars, each on either side of the reform debate. Mustafa Akyol is probably the most notable Muslim modernist and reformer, he has authored several best-selling books on the subject, most recently “Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance”. His argument, as we will hear, is certainly well-articulated and nuanced. He writes regularly for the New York Times and other publications. And his is joined with Professor Ovamir Anjum who is Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Toledo. Ovamir penned a recent piece on the need for a Caliphate and argues against the reform agenda and has written extensively about Ibn Taymiyyah, who was the subject of his research.
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We live in a world crafted by the tenets of liberalism. Western societies, of all hues, broadly base their politics, laws and thinking around this very idea. Inevitably, Muslims have been impacted by liberalism, not least because after the fall of the Ottoman caliphate, the Muslim world became subject to a liberal intellectual inquisition. Today many of us cannot see the tradition except through a liberal lens, this is most pronounced with Muslims living in western societies.
This week we have probably one of the most learned authorities on the subject. Professor Joseph Kaminski from the University of Sarajevo has recently published a really important academic work on the subject, titled Islam, Liberalism and Ontology.
His book is available here: https://www.routledge.com/Islam-Liberalism-and-Ontology-A-Critical-Re-evaluation/Kaminski/p/book/9780367534110
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The Ottoman state was the last Islamic Caliphate, that at its height brought diverse Muslims together under one banner. Yet, for a state that dominated world politics and created a unique order in the world, very little of its details are studied and understood by Muslims. According to Dr Yakoob Ahmed, my guest this week, this ‘collective amnesia’ was deliberately devised as a means to consolidate the modern nation state. I initially asked Dr Ahmed to discuss Ottoman decline, why this vast empire fell in 1924, but as you will hear – his rich understanding of Ottoman history takes the conversation to many fascinating places.Dr Ahmed has become an authority on Ottoman history, and we talk about his research on Ottoman decline, his move from London to Istanbul, his quest to reorient a Muslim thinking of history, the phenomenon that is Ertrugul and how he believes any Caliphate project has to be profoundly wedded to an accurate reading of our history.I found my discussion with him enlightening and in many ways he challenged my previously held assumptions about the Ottomans during the latter period. I would suggest you take your time to listen to this interview to the very end.As always, we value your feedback, you can leave a comment on our website. We also request that if you like the show, please alert others to it and please leave a review on Apple podcasts, this helps us in the podcast rankings.Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn and https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/
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Masjid al-Aqsa is a sacred mosque on a sacred site, observed by Muslims to be the third most revered religious site in Islam. In this episode, we talk to Ustadh Iyad Hilal from al-Arqam Institute about how Muslims should understand this Masjid and its precincts. He takes a look at the contemporary attempt to reduce its importance in the eyes of the ummah and reflects on his own families experience after the nakba in 1948. We also cover the history of Islam’s entry into Palestine at the time of the second Caliph, Umar (ra), the Crusades and Iyad talks about the parlous situation today as Gaza remains under siege and Al-Aqsa comes under renewed threat from right-wing extremists.You can donate to this podcast here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contribute To access our archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/
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France, like many European countries, were once the colonising force in the Muslim world. And like many of these countries, colonialism was sold as a benevolent project, looking to civilise the savages. France’s history is at times brutal, but the French also had a strong commitment to spreading so-called enlightenment values to the east. In the process, it sought to bring the good message of French liberalism to the Muslim orient. This French obsession remains to today, with the most recent proposals to ban the hijab for under 18-year olds and Macron’s so-called anti separatism bill – looking to further marginalise an already impoverished community.But it’s France in Algeria that is the subject of todays show. Farhat Amin speaks to Zara Choudhary founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sacred Footsteps. Zara talks about her recent article "Unveiling the Algerienne, French colonial photography", which looks at the central obsession of French colonialism to unveil Muslim women. There are indeed many parallels to today.Zara's article can be found here: https://www.sacredfootsteps.org/2021/03/21/unveiling-the-algerienne-french-colonial-photography/You can donate to this podcast here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contributeTo access our archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/ Farhat Amin also hosts the Smart Muslima podcast found here: https://smartmuslima.com/podcast
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For most Muslims, Ramadan’s routine of prayer, reflection and dua was interrupted by the horrific acts of savagery perpetrated by the Israelis against Palestinians. It started with the Sheikh Jarrah land grab, the latest episode in the ongoing project of settler colonialism and then the sanctities of Al-Aqsa was defiled by police officers hell-bent on provoking the sentiments of worshippers.This week we discuss the politics of Palestine with the veteran commentator Dr Azzam Tamimi.Support this podcast by donating https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/contribute
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Mohamedou Slahi’s period of unlawful detention in Guantanamo Bey has recently been portrayed in the film ‘The Mauritanian’. His resilience and sense of human dignity comes through in the movie. In this episode, we reached out to Mohamedou to find out about his fortitude, what gave him the ability to remain strong throughout his ordeal? I asked him about his childhood, the context of his arrest and his ability to contextualise his incarceration and not descend into bitterness. I start with some of our pre-formal discussion where he talks about the restrictions that remain upon him, which prevents him from travelling to the UK.Follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn & https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/
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In the month of Ramadan we commonly hear that this is the month of the Qur’an. Usually, we associate this with its increased recitation in say taraweeh prayers. But how do we gain an intimate relationship with the book of Allah?This week we speak to Nuh Saunders who has given a lifetime of service to inculcating a love for the book of Allah. His passion for the Qur’an can be seen through his social media interactions, in a recent post he talked of his desire to build a Qur’an school in every black inner-city neighbourhood in America.Nuh Saunders can be found on Twitter https://twitter.com/NuhSaundersFollow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn & https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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The subject of the sighting of the moon has become a metaphor for our broader division as an ummah. We have disputes over the correct day to start and end Ramadan and invariably this leads to division. This weeks guest Ustadh Iyad Hilal argues that in origin what constitutes sighting has been subject to differences between the classical scholars. To insist on one way, as some Islamic groups do, in the absence of a caliphal authority, comes from a shallow understanding of the lawfulness of difference of opinion in Islam and contravenes notions of adab of iktilaaf. He talks through all the evidences on the matter and discusses issues of using calculations, local vs global sighting, what is a witness and following countries such as Saudi Arabia.To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/ and follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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If you want to see a film that simultaneously depicts the horrors of man’s excessive barbarism but also the indominable spirit of human resilience, you have to watch The Mauritanian. Set in the legally dubious post-9/11 world, it tells the gripping story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi and his rendition to the infamous ex-Soviet airbase, Bagram in Afghanistan and then Guantanamo Bey. Slahi was falsely accused of links to Al-Qaeda and without recourse to due process, international treaties and conventions and the so-called cherished principles of the US constitution, he ended up spending 14-long years in Camp X-ray. Yet the power of the human spirit and his Islamic convictions prevailed and he returned to his home country of Mauritania, exonerated of any wrongdoing.But the film left many unanswered questions. We invited Moazzam Begg from the campaigning group CageUK, also a former Guantanamo prisoner, to talk about the film, his relationship with Slahi and to put into context the geopolitical and legal issues that led to what some describe as a scar on American democracy.To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/ and follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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The social sciences, the humanities, politics, geography and the like are looked upon with the same reverence as natural sciences. And the queen of these sciences is economic science. Economists in the new era have convinced us that they have unearthed the universal truth of human economic activity and the markets are infallible. We often hear newsreaders speak of ‘the markets’ as if they were a natural law, a deity that cannot be questioned.Our guest this episode is Dr Asad Zaman has a unique view of modern economics and he concludes capitalism is a house of cards masquerading as objective truths. He should know, he spent many years studying and then lecturing at America’s most elite institutions, mixing with the likes of Joseph Stiglitz. He calls for a revival of Islamic thinking on the subject. Riaz Hassan spoke to him from his home in Pakistan.For further reading and to listen to and view Dr Zaman's insightful lectures, check out our episode insights page: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/insights/demystifying-social-science-liberal-economics-asad-zaman To sign up to Muhammad Jalal's weekly international politics briefing, click here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/
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We live in a world where Islam is subject to an almighty project of reform. In this difficult environment, the simple truths of Islam and the age-old process of arriving at such truths have been muddied by modernist constructions that at their heart hope to reconcile Islam with a dominant ideological narrative.To give this campaign a fig leaf of legitimacy, the traditional principle of al-maqasid al-shariah, loosely translated as the general goals of the shariah, has been co-opted by liberals and secularists as a means to open up Islam to the so-called universal values of liberalism. But what is the traditional conception of al-maqasid? To take a deeper look at this idea, Riaz Hassan and I spoke to Dr. Osman Umarji a director at the Yaqeen Institute who studied Islam at al-Azhar University in Cairo. To comment - go to https://www.thinkingmuslim.comFollow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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A Special Extended InterviewFreedom of speech is an idea we all naturally gravitate towards. Who would want to live in a society where certain types of speech were outlawed or regulated? Or where we had to watch what we say at every turn. To understand this subject further, we have Hamza Tzortzis to break down the idea and to give us an Islamic perspective. Hamza is the author of The Divine Reality: God, Islam & The Mirage of Atheism. He is a public speaker, instructor and essayist and a founding member of the Sapience Institute.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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Vaccines are in the news. As the coronavirus ravages the world, causing untold damage to lives, communities and livelihoods, a glimmer of hope has come in the production of new vaccines. This breakthrough, however has not been universally embraced. Theories abound, across the internet and on social media, suggesting a number of reasons why vaccines are dangerous.So how should we think about vaccines? Well the first step is to consult a trustworthy expert so we can make an informed decision. And we have such a person this week. Dr Hisham Abdullah has a lifetimes work looking at vaccines and research. He holds a degree in pharmacy and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences and clinical research. He started his career as a scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration and he has, since then, worked on various pharmaceutal projects in industry. On top of that, Dr Hisham has acquired qualifications in Islamic studies and has spent the past 30 years teaching Usul al-Fiqh and is active in Islamic circles in the US.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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This week we invite back onto the show Ustadh Iyad Hilal from California’s Al Arqam Institute. Ustadh Iyad has expertise in usul ul-fiqh and has recently presented a stimulating and accessible online usul course. We ask him to untangle the issues of vaccines, medicines in general and we discuss how a Muslim should arrive at judgments and our responsibilities to not fall prey to theories not grounded in reality.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Email: info@thinkingmuslim.com
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Riaz Hasan speaks to Almir Colan, a thinker on Islamic economics and host of the thought provoking Islamic Finance podcast and Director of the Australian Centre for Islamic Finance. He speaks to us about the problems with the current paradigms of capitalism and socialism and how greater thinking on Islamic economics needs to take place. He also speaks about his 'Shepherds Model', the manner we need to look at economy. You can listen to his Islamic finance podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/islamic-finance-podcast-with-almir-colan/id569462639?mt=2 For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/
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This episode, I speak at length to the Arab Spring activist Iyad El-Baghdadi about his valuable experience, analysis and forecast about the years ahead. He rose to prominence in the aftermath of the Arab revolutions of 2011 before being summarily arrested and forcibly exiled from his home in the UAE in April 2014. Today he is recognized among the most influential and prominent Arab voices online. He lives in Oslo, Norway, where he has been granted political asylum, and writes regularly for both Norwegian and international media, and his Twitter account received over 180 million views in last year. He is also founder and editor-in-chief of the Arab Tyrant Manual, a platform for the study of authoritarian behaviour and tactics.For more information and to view our archive, visit https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastFollow us on twitter Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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To help us understand the current crises in France, I am delighted to have on The Thinking Muslim Sheikh Yasir Qadhi. Dr Yasir Qadhi is well known in the Muslim community, he is a scholar and since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, with a center in Houston, Texas. He is currently the resident scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center in Texas.Dr Qadhi has raised some searching questions over the past few weeks about French policy towards Muslims, violence perpetrated by a minority of those Muslims and, he argues, the potential for the ‘French model’ to be exported to other countries where Muslims are a minority. We ask Dr Qadhi about Islamic justifications for violence, how we should defend the honour of the Messenger of Allah (saw), the position of minority communities, the role of scholarship in politics and raising awareness about these issues and we also speak about the current problem with many Islamic scholars who chose to remain silent instead of speak truth to power, less they lose their position, usually gained through political patronage or they lose their following. Inevitably the thorny subject of scholars and despotic rulers comes up, and Dr Qadhi gives his frank opinion on the matter.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/ Presenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn Email: info@thinkingmuslim.com
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To an outsider, the United States looks like it is in meltdown. In what seems like months, the farce of the US elections has dwarfed coverage of huge Coronavirus deaths, with most political pundits predicting a Biden victory. But with talk of potential challenge to the result, all signs indicate the possibility of a protracted period of uncertainty. American democracy today seems to be sinking under the contradictions, inequalities and culture wars that undermine the fabric of its political standing in the world. The ‘city on the hill’ today looks like a banana republic. This week we speak to Mohammed Hannini from the United States, Brother Mohammed has a B.A. in Islamic History & a Masters in Islamic Studies with a focus in Fiqh. Brother Mohammed is currently a lecturer at American Open University for Usul al Fiqh, and Islamic Contracts. He conducts classes in the local masajid in Raleigh, North Carolina and lectures for the Arqam Institute, currently co-presenting an illuminating course on usul al-fiqh. I wanted to get a picture of the politics in the country and how Muslims are approaching the election.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim/ https://twitter.com/jalalayn Email: info@thinkingmuslim.com
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As part of our Arab Spring series, we take a look at the events that shook the region at the beginning of 2011 and ask searching questions about where we are now. The Middle East today remains a cauldron of instability, yet the autocrats and their backers have successfully, for now, subverted a revolution that once filled Arabs and Muslims with hope.My guest this week is Dr Azzam Tamimi. Dr Tamimi is a Palestinian academic and activist and has for decades contributed to Islamic and political work. He has authored numerous books, detailing his analysis on events in the Muslim world including his doctoral thesis on Rachid Ghannouchi from An-Nahda Party and a detailed history of Hamas. Dr Tamimi currently hosts a show on Al-Hiwar TV.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimEmail: info@thinkingmuslim.com
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We are coming to the tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring, the momentous series of events that started in hope with the desperate act of a Tunisian vegetable seller. With the return of another pharaoh in Egypt, the impunity with which he has meted out retribution upon those that were opposed to the regime and the killing field of Syria, whose soil today stands soaked with the blood of martyrs, makes even the most optimistic person surmise that the Arab Spring has turned into what can be called a cold winter. Over the coming weeks and months, The Thinking Muslim takes a look at the tumultuous decade from multiple perspectives. What went wrong? How did an event that reverberated across Muslim capitals, with echoed chants go so horribly wrong? And what lessons can we learn from the mistakes made?Our guest this week is Dr Osman Bakash from Lebanon. Osman was very active on Arab media channels at the height of the Arab Spring and remains a inciteful commentator. This week we take a deep look at Egypt and Syria, unpicking the complex circumstances that led to both countries deepening their respective authoritarian rules.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimEmail: info@thinkingmuslim.com
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Malcolm X, the black American Muslim leader is celebrated around the world. His courage, intelligence and skill to persuade, makes him one of the greatest orators in history. Yet, today what he stood for has become unclear, as his image and message is co-opted into several political programmes that, if Malcolm was alive today, he would probably find questionable. Riaz Hasan of the Thinking Muslim Project speaks to Hakeem Muhammad, a lawyer and campaigner about his thoughts on Malcolm X, distilling the real man from the fiction created after his death.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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Twenty years ago, the then UK Labour government led by Prime Minister Tony Blair introduced anti-terror laws that, in time, would expand the British security state. The raft of terrorism legislation that came as a result, have impacted the Muslim community and refashioned our relationship with institutions of government and the way we are perceived by wider society. Our guest today, Moazzam Begg from CAGE UK, is a brother that took a stand and through his public engagements gives hope to believers, presenting an unfiltered Islam, uncompromised by state patronage.Website: http://thinkingmuslim.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimPresenter: https://twitter.com/jalalayn
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This week we invite back onto the show Dr Abul Izz Abdul Salam, a university professor and expert in comparative economics from Jerusalem Palestine to continue our series, today exploring property ownership. Capitalism places great emphasis on free enterprise, the orthodoxy states most property should be in the hands of private corporations, whereas radical socialism places a greater emphasis on collective ownership, looking upon property rights with scepticism. Until now, Muslims have oscillated between the two ideologies, many proudly describing themselves as Islamic capitalists or Islamic socialists. Yet Islam as the revelation from Allah (swt) came to help us reach salvation in the afterlife as well as harmony in our societies. So how do we define property in Islam?
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We speak to a regular guest Dr Shadee Elmasry about division within the Muslim community. I ask him, how does Islam help us to navigate our differences? What makes a valid shari’ opinion? How do we know whether a scholar or commentator is sincere to sources of Islam? What makes a mujtahid and what are the limits of the muqallid (follower)? We discuss the recent trend amongst duat to call out and defame one another. We also discuss the duty of enjoining maroof and forbid munkar, how does a layman fulfil this duty? What gives the commoner the right to question even scholars on issues and what are the guidelines? How do we forbid wrong while transmitting respect and not exacerbating divisions? We look at the notion ‘only Allah can judge’ and the anger that pervades much of modern social media ‘da’wah’. What does it mean to be smart in conveying Islam? and does being smart sometimes come at the cost of being truthful? Access our podcast archive here: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcast
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Even if we don’t subscribe to the oft quoted phrase of Jordan Peterson that there is "a crisis of masculinity", we may accept that young men live lives in an era where their roles and responsibilities remain subject to intense scrutiny. Our guest today, Ameen from the popular Mind Heist podcast and the YouTube help channel Seera Masters is a young man trying to make sense of this world. Ameen set off on a journey to discover what Islam expects from a man and in his own words found conclusions that challenged his own preconceptions. He is currently working on writing a book on the subject.
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The environment we find ourselves in after 9/11 has made it very difficult for our community to simultaneously continue living an Islamic life and meeting the demands of our daily existence. This atmosphere has given rise to what can only be called a liberal inquisition, the constant reminder that we should be defensive about our faith and that what we believe is somehow out of sync with modernity.In this febrile atmosphere, some have called for more radical action to affirm the faith of our families and community. If the next generation is to survive, maybe we need to more proactively build community institutions that nurture true conviction and assert more readily our priorities, free from the tedious scrutiny of wider society. This is where Muslims have engaged with the Benedict Option of Rod Dreher.To discuss the notion of a Muslim Benedict Option we speak with Ismail Royer, an activist and thinker from America, Royer serves as a Director at the Religious Freedom Institute, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization.Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimOn Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim - and direct questions: https://t.me/jcontact And access our archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcast/
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Our guest this week, Dr Joseph Kaminski is associate professor at the Department of International Relations at the International University of Sarajevo. He has spent the last six years in the country, which he has now adopted as his own. Dr Kaminski has written a number of papers on Islam and governance and he is currently authoring a book on Islam and liberalism, a matter we discuss at the end of the podcast.Follow my thread evidencing how the West accepts Srebrenica as a human sacrifice: https://twitter.com/jalalayn/status/1282065107695144963?s=20Sign up to our free comparative ideas course: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/comparative-thought-liberalism-and-islam-10-week-course-starts-19jul-tickets-113103958986Sign up to this usul al-fiqh course: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/113242924636
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Our guest this week, Imam Dawud Walid, although acknowledging the importance of activism within the Islamic tradition, argues that our community must tread carefully when developing lines of collaboration with progressive movements, lest we are utilised for problematic political and cultural aims. He argues that activism does not fall out of the purview of the revelation and if we are to make a change, this has to be rooted in an Islamic notion of justice and using means that accord with the prophetic sunnah. Forging alliances with the progressive left has come at a cost, he argues, the left are utilising the Muslim community to pursue their broader electoral aims.Website: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastLaunchgood campaign: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/book_discover_the_islamic_alternative_to_feminism#!/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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The dress of Muslim women has been politicised by secular thinkers, left wing activists, conservatives, feminists and talk-show hosts that all believe their take on the subject will emancipate Muslim women. For centuries, an obsession with Muslim women’s dress has enabled an array of political projects.This week we speak to two guests, firstly Farhat Amin, who is working on a book project to address the twin challenges of Muslim confusion about their Islamic rights and feminism and then we discuss the long colonial history behind the politicisation of women's dress and how to view the hijab from the shari’ah rules with Ustadh Iyad Hilal, author and imam from the United States.Website: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcastLaunchgood campaign: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/book_discover_the_islamic_alternative_to_feminism#!/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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The Hijab or Khimar has been subject to ferocious scrutiny, with youtube influencers, journalists, politicians and academics all participating in what is now a regular feature in how liberal society would like Muslims to live.To address the subject Farhat Amin from our sister podcast, A Muslim Mom spoke to Emaan Abbasi, a writer and academic that recently penned a brilliant piece titled, “not my body, not my choice” for the online magazine Traversing Tradition.
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My guest today, Hakeem Muhammad, grew up in the communities excluded by mainstream America. He argues that in our anger we should not undervalue the structural conditions that enable and safeguard those that treat their fellow man as sub-human. The structural racism that plagues American life comes from a broader ideology that shows disdain for non-European cultures and creeds. He argues powerfully that white supremacy cannot be separated from liberalism, in fact, liberal protagonists, from Locke to Jefferson, Kant to Rawls have all echoed the same mantra of America acting as a civilising force in the world. The atrocities of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo were conducted by the same people, nurtured within the same cultural climate.Hakeem Muhammad is a Public Interest Law Scholar from Northeastern University School of Law where he also holds a Juris Doctorate Degree.The Thinking Muslim Twitter @thinking_muslim https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimEmail info@thinkingmuslim.com
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Muslim’s that engage on social media often contribute to the online antagonism that reflects the coarse and crude trend of wider society. It goes like this, someone tweets a view, sometimes coherent and thought through and sometimes not and within a short space of time, it solicits a torrent of abuse.This week on The Thinking Muslim we look at ‘Muslim Twitter’, what causes the bitterness? how do we tone down the rhetoric and how can the revelation and our illustrious scholarly past help us to rectify our manners of engagement? We have invited Justin Parrot to discuss this matter, Justin holds an MRes in Islamic Studies from the University of Wales and is currently Research Librarian for Middle East Studies at NYU in Abu Dhabi where he is also a volunteer Imam for the Muslim Students Association. He also runs an amazing website with a unique accessible hadith repository, available here https://abuaminaelias.com.Access past content on our website - https://www.thinkingmuslim.com Contribute to our new exciting book project on Launchgood https://www.launchgood.com/project/book_discover_the_islamic_alternative_to_feminism#!/And sign up to our free course https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/comparative-thought-liberalism-socialism-and-islam-5-week-course-tickets-102518098392
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Ertugrul is a show about the legendary father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Sultanate. The show’s success in the Muslim world leaves many, especially those with liberal leanings, perplexed. Its recent airing in Pakistan has taken the country by storm. Prime Minister Imran Khan has tweeted about the show, suggesting all young Pakistani’s can gain a sense of lost history and Muslim unity. Saudi Arabia has banned the show, citing its malign influence and Egypt’s "High Fatwa Council" (Dâru'l-İftâ), published a statement that accuses Turkey of trying to create an “area of influence” for itself in the Middle East via its soft power.To discuss the show and its cultural and geopolitical impact I have invited two Muslim commentators, Dilly Hussain of 5pillars and Imran Muneer from the Mad Mamluks podcast.Please leave your comments on https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/podcast, follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim, join our Telegram channel https://t.me/thinkingmuslim and sign up to our new online course https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/courses
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Death has become a part of our everyday lives. Covid-19 and its spread have brought home to us the undeniable reality that we are mortal beings and our accumulation of wealth, prestige and power will come to an end. How we think about death impacts on how we think about life. So how should death be conceptualised? How should we really remember death, beyond the occasional thoughts about it? How do we make death our partners and our guide in conditioning our present?To understand this idea, I have invited Kamal Abu Zahra – a lecturer in Islamic studies, currently completing his PhD in looking at the minority fiqh and its compatibility with classical notions of scholarship. I ask Kamal some searching questions about death and how we should see it, how we should confront its claims upon us, and how we should address it when death falls on someone close to us.Visit our website www.thinkingmuslim.com and leave a comment, follow us on Twitter @thinking_muslim and join our Telegram Channel https://t.me/thinkingmuslim
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How should we understand the ahadith related to plagues and medicines? We are often deluged with cures for a host of ailments and some argue conventional pharmaceuticals have little value in the face of these solutions from sunnah.This week on the Thinking Muslim Podcast I have invited an imam and author Iyad Hilal from California, America to explain what is the prophetic sunnah and how should we evaluate what it has to say about plagues and medicines.Iyad Hilal has authored one of the best books I have read explaining Usul al-fiqh, in a digestible way to the non-specialist reader and runs the Al-Arqam institute. His lectures, Jumma khutbahs and discussions can be found on Youtube and I would say it’s a treasure trove of wisdom and depth.I ask him about the sunnah and its scope, the ahadeeth related to plagues and quarantines, the prophetic medicines and other such narrations and how scholars of the past view these aspects of the sunnah. We also discuss the value of conventional medicine and the current public health advice that runs contrary to our religious instincts and ceremonies, most notably the cessation of Salaatul Jummah and regular prayers in the masjids.Visit our website (www.thinkingmuslim.com), follow us on Twitter @thinking_muslim and join our Telegram Channel
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This week I speak to Fadl Hejazi, a Muslim academic from India, about the crisis facing the Muslims of India. To cover its obvious failures, key Indian politicians and its RSS supporters opted to turn the country on its Muslim citizens, blaming the mounting cases on the Tablighi Jamat Ijtima (gathering) in Nizamuddin. What they dubbed ‘Corona Jihad,’ an insidious campaign to spread the virus to Hindus. The virus, in their warped view, was another weapon used by Muslims against the majority population.Follow the programme and comment on https://www.thinkingmuslim.comFollow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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What is pronounced today in a post-truth world is the increase of non-experts on social media that forward their views and gain an audience upon conspiracy theories and half-baked truths. This week we invite Dr Naveed Syed from Public Health England and Dr Imran Waheed to unravel the truths behind the crisis and why so many people are susceptible to conspiracies. We look at the origins of Covid-19, the means of transmission, the herd immunity theory, flu statistics, verification of news, Facebook 'experts', annual death rates, government failures, the mental health implications, Jummah fatawa (and poor scholarship), Toby Young, 5G conspiracies and prophetic treatments. For more information visit The Thinking Muslim Website to see our latest courses and projects and follow us on Twitter @thinking_muslim
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Since the Coronavirus lockdown became a daily feature of our lives, a number of commentators have speculated about the future of economic liberalism. Many on the left and some Muslims have concluded this period will presage the end to capitalism and the dawn of a new economic order.Such claims may fail to live up to proper scrutiny, instead we may be witnessing the acceleration of America’s position as the global hegemon and with it, the fragmentation of the American led liberal world order.My guest today, Riaz Hasan, is a writer and community organiser, I discuss the political and economic ramifications of this crisis. We look at the economic impact of the crisis, the decline of the liberal democratic world, the move to embrace the Chinese model of capitalism and whether a realistic and well-thought through Islamic model currently exists to meet the challenges of the 21st century.Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimPlease also fill in our survey of Muslim attitudes here: https://thinkingmuslim.wufoo.com/forms/m1yro00q0cfrl91/
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As we hunker down and wait in anticipation for a Covid-19 breakthrough, we inevitably begin to think about our mortality and whether we have within us the ability to deal with this crisis. In the coming weeks we are going to explore the Covid-19 crisis and its implication upon us. Today I invite back onto the show, Dr Shadee Elmasry, an imam and Islamic scholar from the United States.We look at 1) the 'cancellation' of jummah and the madahibs, 2) Is this a punishment from Allah, 3) Are we martyrs (shaheed) if we die, 4) if we get it then is it Allah's will, 5) How did early Muslim's deal with communicable diseases?, 6) trusting experts and human nature 7) WhatsApp disinformation, 8) stockpiling, 9) responsibility to others, 10) how a believer should spend their time? The Muslim community has faced a series of questions in the past week and I put them to Dr ElMasry.Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslim
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My guest this week, Dr Ovamir Anjum , although abhorring all that Isis may stand for, suggests that its brief rise to notoriety has opened up space for intelligent minded Muslim’s to reimagine a world with a just Caliphate. Dr Anjum calls for a new wave of thinking on the subject, grounded in revelation and aimed at showing both Muslim’s and non-Muslims how Islam’s thought should be considered as an alternative to the contemporary decaying world order.Dr Anjum argues in a recent long read penned for the Yaqeen Institute that not only is there an urgent requirement for Muslim intelligentsia and civil society to debate the form a modern Caliphate would take but to seriously place it at the centre of Muslim social and political activism. He argues that Islam’s challenge has to be framed in the context of the broader tumults faced by the liberal order, namely the process of deglobalisation and the rise of populist nativism.Dr. Ovamir Anjum is Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Toledo. He obtained his Ph.D. in Islamic history in the Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Author of Politics, Law and Community in Islamic Thought: The Taymiyyan Moment (Cambridge University Press, 2012). His current projects include a multi-volume survey of Islamic history and a monograph on Islamic political thought.To contact the show twitter @thinking_muslim email thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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What is a man, what makes a man and what is masculinity? Dr Shadee Elmasry takes a look at toxic masculinity and Islam's response. Dr Shadee in this debate, stands out for his dedication to a nuanced and intelligent look at how revelation informs the Muslim conception of masculinity. How did the Allah and His Messenger's (saw) practice nurture an Islamic vision of masculinity?Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimJoin the Thinking Muslim Course - visit thinkingmuslim.eventbrite.co.ukEmail the programme using the email thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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This week I speak to Dr Asher Siddiqui, an engineer from Delhi who has been at the epicentre of the protests at Delhi’s Jamia Millia University.During the past two weeks, India has been rocked by countrywide demonstrations spontaneously driven by largely young Muslim’s energised by their mutual dislike for a new citizenship law designed to relegate Muslim’s as second class citizens. The law, the Citizenship Amendment Act, enables the state to fast track the citizenship of migrants but significantly omits Muslim’s. The fear is this is another step in dismantling the rights of Muslims of India.Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimJoin the Thinking Muslim Course - visit thinkingmuslim.eventbrite.co.ukEmail the programme using the email thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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In our short lives it is inevitable that we shall experience the death of our loved ones. Psychologists claim that there are five stages of grief, and for some to come to terms with the death of a partner, son, daughter or close friend may never be reconciled. We hear of many whose hearts are never settled and who live a shadow of their former lives. Many fall into depression as a consequence and others turn to drink and drugs to temporarily release their minds from the reminders associated in everyday life.This week I have invited Dr Yousif Haj Yousif, a consultant anaesthetist who has seen death and its impacts close up. I ask Yousif to help us to contextualise grief, how do we grieve as Muslims? and what are the ideas from Allah (swt) that help to console our hearts.Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimJoin the Thinking Muslim Course - visit thinkingmuslim.eventbrite.co.ukEmail the programme using the email thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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My guest this week has been working in the field for over twenty years, Dr Imran Waheed is a consultant psychiatrist and looks at what is mental illness and why is it on the increase? How does Islam help us to deal with our mental health and build resilience to deal with the travails of life? And why has the liberal west failed to enhance the human mind? Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimDonate to help us promote the podcast using PayPal here https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B6WZTV3E6LUYN&source=urlLast few places left on our Thinking Muslim Course - visit thinkingmuslim.eventbrite.co.ukYou can also email the programme using the email thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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This week I ask Dr Abul Izz Abdul Salam, a professor and expert in comparative economics from Jerusalem Palestine, to take a look at how Islam deals with the creation of wealth and at the same time address the problem of stagnant money that remains the prize of the rich 1%. It is common in the west to find multi-billionaires hoard vast amounts of wealth or invest their capital in financial markets that have little impact upon the real productive economy. It was the meltdown of these markets in 2008 that contributed to the biggest economic crash since the 1930’s leading to a global slowdown.What is the guiding philosophy that underpins an Islamic economy when it comes to economic growth, the wealthy and the circulation of money in that economy and what role, if any, does the government play in regulating this activity?Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimDonate to help us promote the podcast using PayPal herehttps://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B6WZTV3E6LUYN&source=urlYou can also email the programme thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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This week I talk to Dr Abul Izz Abdul Salam, an academic and thinker of Islamic and comparative economics and a university professor from Jerusalem Palestine. We take a look at how Islamic Economics differs from the dominant liberal economic order that creates enormous wealth inequalities and perpetuates poverty. Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimDonate to help us promote the podcast using PayPal here https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B6WZTV3E6LUYN&source=urlYou can also email the programme thinkingmuslim@pm.me
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This week I talk to Uthman Badr, academic, speaker and activist from Sydney Australia, on secularism, its origins, meaning and its impact upon the Muslim World.Follow the programme on Twitter@thinking_muslimhttps://twitter.com/thinking_muslimDonate to help us promote the podcast using PayPal here https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B6WZTV3E6LUYN&source=urlAnd read my write-up for this programme, including my thoughts on the interview on my Medium page
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This week I talk to Asim Qureshi, Research Director at the advocacy group CAGE, on the securitisation of the Muslim community and the making of an ‘enemy within’.Follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslim [https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim]Donate to help us promote the podcast using PayPal here [https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B6WZTV3E6LUYN&source=url]And read my write-up for this programme, including my thoughts on the interview on my Medium page https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim/a-suspect-community-britain-s-muslims-and-the-spectre-of-fear-cb5160588c6?sk=16534a59c08a054c089d6f52292c0fba
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My guest this week is Hakeem Muhammad, he argues that narratives about the slave trade barely mention the Muslim origin of many African’s that were enslaved, their courageous attempts to remain Muslim despite severe repression and indeed the role Islam played as a basis of defiance and the driver behind many of the slave rebellions on plantations. Hakeem charts the role of Christianity in legitimising slavery but also how forcible conversions were used to pacify slaves. For Hakeem, the advent of liberalism did little to reverse this racialised world view, he suggests early liberal philosophers like Locke and Kant were proponents of slavery and talked openly about subjugating African’s in pursuit of economic gain. Hakeem Muhammad is from the Southside of Chicago and is the founder and president of the Black Dawah Network.Please remember to follow the programme on Twitter @thinking_muslimAlso you may want to read my writeup of this week's show as well as leave a comment on Medium https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim/enslaved-african-muslims-to-america-the-untold-story-d9725ca18218?sk=bab6f7a1d3566fb850abdb678a7336e0
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@thinking_muslimFor over three years, Britain’s political establishment and much of the country has been in, what can only described as political meltdown. The 2016 referendum called by David Cameron resulted in the extraordinary outcome to leave the EU, despite all political predictions to the contrary. Since then Britain has been battling with the issue, triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, negotiating a deal that was rejected on three separate occasions by Parliament, the resignation of Theresa May and now what seems like a flailing Boris Johnson administration. Is Britain on a course to make the worst political decision since the Suez Crisis in 1956, that may potentially tip it into a recession and in the words of former PM John Major, reduce its influence in the world.Dr Imran Waheed joins me in conversation to explore Britain’s uneasy relationship with Europe, its current predicament and to speculate about what comes next. As always, please subscribe to The Thinking Muslim on your favourite Podcast app and follow me on @thinking_muslim for regular updates.
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This week we look at Islam’s perspective on wealth. In many ways how we view wealth and its accumulation has an impact on how we think, our likes and dislikes and how we engage with the world. It is accepted that religious people shun wealth, "the meek will inherit the earth" is the famous biblical passage. Many Muslims also have an uneasy relationship with wealth, it is often associated with fahisha (transgressions) and taqabbur (arrogance), and too much wealth leads to extravagance, hassad (jealousy) and worse. So how does Islam view wealth and how does it view extravagance. Does Islam promise damnation for the rich and salvation for the poor? How should we view the sense of comfort that accompanies wealth with what some may see as religious principles of struggle and hardship? Is our spiritual connection with Allah compromised when we focus on our material needs and desires?To answer these questions this week I have invited Hasan al-Hasan to join us. Hasan is a university lecturer based in London, originally from Lebanon.If you like the show, please remember to: Subscribe on your favourite app Forward this message to others Follow the show on Twitter @thinking_muslim - https://twitter.com/thinking_muslim Follow my programme Medium page https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim
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This week I speak to Fadl Hejazi, an India based academic in Islamic sciences, currently pursuing his doctoral studies in the energy economies of the Arab world. Fadl has extensively travelled across India and he is also a regular visitor to Kashmir. In this second part podcast, more than 2-weeks since the Indian government’s actions in Kashmir, I want to explore the doctrine that underpins Modi’s India, known as Hindutva and its impact upon the countries Muslims. It is oft-forgotten, that after partition in 1947, Pakistan became home to just a portion of India’s Muslims. Those that were left behind have been subject to state and structural disadvantage. Nevermore so than under the Hindu nationalism of Modi’s tenure.You can follow the show on Twitter @thinking_muslim.You can also read the supplementary article accompanying this podcast, on https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim -updated on Monday's - where you may also leave a comment.
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This week on The Thinking Muslim Podcast I interview Dr Omar Khan, a political analyst and expert in South Asian affairs. Dr Khan provides a fascinating understanding of the political and geopolitical reasons behind PM Modi of India’s decision to repeal Article 370 and 35A that has led to an almost total lockdown in the region. He takes a deep dive into why Modi decided to take this move now, the dilemma of Pakistan’s government led by Imran Khan, how China views the crisis and most importantly how Afghanistan and America’s desperation to end its longest war has a major part to play in the timing of the decision as well as the Trump administration’s belief that Pakistan could do more to end the conflict. Please remember to subscribe using your favourite Podcast app, we are now on Spotify, Google, Apple, TuneIn, Stitcher and all major platforms. To view maps of the region, read the accompanying article and continue the discussion, go to https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim/podcast-the-kashmir-crisis-explained-3c1eb7d8e991?sk=fa4293a968a7faea996bc5901ec004c5Or follow me on Twitter @thinking_muslim.
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This week we shall be looking at the situation of the Muslim’s in China. Welcome to the first podcast of The Thinking Muslim, follow the show on @thinking_muslim and do remember to subscribe. For the past few years news about the plight of the Uyghurs in the restive north-western region of Xinjiang, known as East Turkestan, has gradually worsened. The destruction of Mosques; the use of technology to monitor every movement of the population, the banning of fasting in Ramadan, the introduction of Han Chinese visitors to each home to observe the family unit, the closing of Islamic seminaries have all been documented as the Chinese state attempts to disassociate Islam from the daily practice of ordinary believers. But it is the introduction of camps, what the Chinese government euphuistically calls ‘re-education centres that have focussed minds around the world that nothing less than the annihilation of an entire religious and cultural identity is taking place in full view of the international community. The Uyghurs have always resisted Chinese rule and their heroism in the face of Chinese imperialism predates 1949 when Chairman Mao brought the Communists to power. The Uyghurs suffered under the repression of the Cultural Revolution, where religion was suppressed. But in recent years, China’s rapid development has allowed it to acquire sophisticated forms of state control, never seen in the history of authoritarian rule. The state regulates every inch of the lives of its Muslim population, on a scale and ambition that informs us about the type of world China is trying to create. To try and understand more about the Uyghurs and their struggle, this week I am pleased to have as our guest on the Thinking Muslim Podcast, Arslan Hidayat an Uyghur activist and campaigner currently based in Turkey to talk to us about the extent to which Muslim Uyghurs have been subject to China’s programme of repression. Arslan has been active for many years, bringing to the world’s attention the situation in East Turkestan, long before it was adopted by the mainstream press. He remains in contact with members of the community and has become a source of information for many. He can be found on Twitter, @arslan_hidayat and I would encourage you all to follow him. You can also access my medium page here https://medium.com/@thinkingmuslim/the-thinking-muslim-podcast-a-conversation-with-uyghur-activist-arslan-hidayet-20fe43015154
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