The Thinking Muslim

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Gaza Sends an Eid Message to the Muslim World by Abubaker Abed Mar 29, 2025

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Dear Muslims, we never asked you to ease our suffering with bottles of water or food parcels. You misunderstood Islam when you chose this path. Sadly, you only act with Israel’s approval, as you’ve been unable to lift the ongoing Israeli blockade on Gaza for over 20 days.

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Is Our Ibaadah Becoming Too Selfish? with Dr Khalid El-Awaisi Mar 25, 2025

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This Ramadan, support an alternative Muslim media platform rooted in faith, thought, and enlightened activism. Your donation is an investment in Sadaqah Jariyah, bringing you rewards that will last long after this life. Become a monthly member today and be part of The Thinking Muslim’s sacred mission.

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Bait ul Maqdis – the sacred precinct in Palestine - is a blessed place in Islam – but today, we have downplayed maybe its centrality to what it means to a believer. From my last conversation with Dr Khalid El-Awaisi – where he controversially said that al Aqsa and these blessed lands have to be more clearly central to our faith and worldview – we want to explore how we practically manifest this nearness to bait al maqdis or Palestine.

Dr Khalid El-Awaisi is from Hebron, Al Khalil, in Palestine. He is a lecturer in the pioneering field of Islamic Jerusalem Studies. He is an Associate Professor of Islamic History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara.

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Also, for the past 16 months, we all know how difficult it has been for food and essential supplies to reach the beleaguered people of Gaza. This, Insha'Allah, is changing. We have partnered with a charity, Baitulmaal, because now, more than ever, there is a need not only in Gaza but also in Turkish controlled Northern Syria and in all the places we routinely talk about in this program where our ummah is subject to abject poverty. We have chosen this charity because Baitulmaal is a non-profit with people on the ground who organize well-thought-out projects and serve the most needy.

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What Does Being A Muslim Mean? With Dr Azzam Tamimi - Moment Mar 24, 2025

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The Genocide Must Be the Jolt That Awakens Us From This Slumber- Muhammad Jalal Mar 20, 2025

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The current crop of rulers that litter the Muslim world are amongst the most detestable of people. They sit silent, often proactive only in the degree to which they collude with the joint enterprise of genocide. Many of the Gulf rulers live in hedonistic metropolises, their empty lives and cities punctuated occasionally by inane regional summits – to bury their ineptitude in the pomp of ceremony. Never has the Muslim world's seats of power been occupied by such wretched leaders. If anyone were to seek a resolution from any of these regimes to save the lives of Palestinians, one would know such an endeavour would be in vain. They epitomise those characterised in the hadith: "The worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you."

Read Muhammad Jalal's full piece here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/p/mans-meanest-weapon-is-to-shed-tears

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Dividing Syria: The Weaponization of Sectarianism with Hussam Ayloush Mar 17, 2025

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There has been what can only be described as an intense disinformation campaign in recent days regarding Syria. If we were to believe it, there exists an unholy alliance of the American right, Assadists, Iranian propagandists, and Russian trolls who argue the new Syrian government is intent on eradicating minorities in the western coastal cities and towns of Syria. Much of this has been driven by naked propaganda to undermine the new liberated Syria. However, is there any truth in the claims that civilians have been caught up and perhaps even targeted in reprisals as forces attempt to deal with a pro-Assad insurgency? And how should we understand the demands of Israel, which has suddenly become the protectors of the Druze in the south? Are we poised to see sectarianism used as an excuse to destabilise the new Syria?

To assist us in untangling fact from fiction, we have Hussam Ayloush on the show. He is the CEO of the California chapter Cair (Council on American Islamic Relations) and hails from Damascus, Syria.

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Why Have We Forgotten Kashmir? With Dr Muzzammil Ayyub Thakur Mar 14, 2025

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Books on Kashmir

Victoria Schofield - Kashmir in Conflict

Victoria Schofield - The History of Kashmir

Alastair Lamb - The Birth of a Tragedy

Alastair Lamb - A Disputed Legacy

Christopher Snedden - The Unwritten History of Kashmir

Khalid Bashir - Kashmir: Exposing the Myths Behind the Narrative

Shah Nalik Haider Chadura - Tarikh-e-Kashmir

Mridu Rai - Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir

Assorted Authors - Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?

Sanjay Kak - Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir

It was the great Mughal emperor Jahanghir who said about Kashmir, Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast - If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.

For 76 years, this beautiful land and its wonderful people have been under Indian occupation. In 1947, upon partition, the original settlement between the principalities and the Indian government was to create an autonomous region, where the vastly Muslim population would govern themselves under Indian sovereignty. Over the successive decades and governments, this agreement has been eroded and today Kashmir is one of the most heavily militarised places in the world.

Yet we do not talk enough about Kashmir and the plight of its Muslims. To set the record straight I am honoured to have on the show Dr Muzammil Thakkur who is the President of World Kashmir Freedom Movement.

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Imran Khan: The People's Champion or a Populist Illusion? with Professor SherAli Tareen Mar 10, 2025

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Pakistan is an enchanting country, fertile and vast, with a talented young population and, at least on paper, all of the ingredients of a regional powerhouse. But the country is experiencing a tumultuous time. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan languishes in prison while the country’s military leaders use every greater coercion to maintain the status quo. Pakistan’s economy is faltering, and the brain drain of qualified professionals continues to leave the country, devastatingly affecting public services and businesses. To help us understand the sheer predicament many Pakistanis feel, we have Professor SherAli Tereen, who recently returned from the country, to share with us his experience and understanding of the underlying power dynamics of the country.

SherAli K. Tareen is the author of the award-winning books “Defending Muhammad in Modernity” (2020) and “Perilous Intimacies: Debating Hindu-Muslim Friendship after Empire” (2023) – he is currently a professor of religious studies at Franklin and Marshall College.

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The Seerah Must Radically Transform Our Lives with Sami Hamdi Mar 06, 2025

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The Seerah (biography) of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is a key reading for all Muslims. However, many view it through a lens that misses its essence. Sami Hamdi explains how we need to rethink how we view Seerah so that we can internalise it in our lives.

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This Ramadan Support an Alternative Media Platform Mar 05, 2025

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Ramadan: The Radical Reset for a Capitalist World – with Imam Tom Facchine Mar 03, 2025

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We often associate Ramadan with seeking closeness to God, which is its aim. A believer abstains from food and drink in the daylight hours to commit themselves to Allah. We draw closer to him through worships and good deeds and this is a month of charity. Muslims give more in this month than any other time in the year, hoping that our sincerity reaches Allah and in the process he overlooks our failings.

But in many ways Ramadan stands as a denunciation of capitalism, the insatiable wants, greed, selfishness and gluttony. It teaches us to focus on what is important – family, ummah, justice and of course our own salvation. This is the argument of Imam Tom Facchine, who joins us today. Imam Tom Facchine is research director at Yaqeen institution.

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