Alas, there are other sides of the legacy. The society in which we are brought up, the education system and the impact of the media all affect one’s outlook. Some aspects which I am acutely aware of include cynicism, scepticism and suspicion. There is a degree to which these aspects can be healthy, but they …
I once knew a fellow who explained that the reason he was not taking his shoes off to pray on the dusty carpet in the basement of his bookshop was that we should differentiate ourselves from the Jews and the Christians. I had heard other justifications for shoes-on-carpet before, but I thought he was confused. …
Whilst sitting at my desk composing my last post a minute ago, two computers on in front of me (my book is on the laptop, but I had writers block, so I switched on my ancient whining monster to check my emails), I was just thrust back to Istanbul. On both computers I have Islamasoft’s …
I think a lot of what I am writing about at the moment must be standing against me. There is a theme running through a lot my pieces, I know. That sense of disillusionment. Without a doubt it plays into those other topics I have written about, particularly the need to express gratitude. More and …
It is a question which I have written about many times before, but one which seems to recur almost in a cycle, returning every three weeks or so: to write or not to write? The latest turn—having only just reconciled myself—arose when I read a comment on this site about the role of the people …
I am grateful to Allah, my Creator and the Creator of all things, that He granted me a home in a small market town in a steep-sided valley. I am grateful to my Lord for granting me this humble dwelling on one side of the valley, overlooking the fields of cows on the other side …
Amazing: I had never really thought about it before, but could this be where the Chaffinch gets its name from? The Chaffinch is the most colourful of all the finches in Britain and apparently our second most common breeding bird. Not that I’ve seen one for ages. Usually it can be see around woodlands, in …
This evening I received an email from a Muslim friend warning me about a new computer virus called “The Olympic Torch”. The email said it was crucial I let everyone know about this, to prevent anything untoward happening. I didn’t forward it however; ever the cynic, I went straight to website of Symantec Coporation, the …
On my way back to work after a Doctor’s appointment this morning, I happened to tune my radio into BBC London. This was a journey of about ten minutes, so I didn’t catch much; the famous Vanessa Feltz (whatever happened to Jon Gaunt?) was asking listeners to phone in with their opinion on Creationism and …
It isn’t actually difficult to appreciate how radicalisation occurs. Last night I had the misfortune of deciding to watch the previous evening’s edition of Newsnight on the web and was thus bombarded with the disgusting images emerging from Abu Ghraib I had so far managed to avoid. In my case I found that the sense …
I have never been a good Believer, neither as a Christian before those five years of agnosticism nor as a Muslim ever since. My faith has never been zealous; when I said I didn’t believe in God for a year or so around the age of fifteen even my atheism was agnostic. Nevertheless, however simple …
I was intending to post something about the water shortage we are currently facing in England. Despite the rain of the past few days, water supplies remain desperately low. So some measure of personal responsibility is required on our part. Perhaps mosque committees would be wise to encourage us to do wudu (ablution) without the …
Were we unable to sin, would we appreciate God’s mercy? Of course, His mercy surrounds us; our hearts which beat without us giving thought, the rain which falls from the sky giving life to dead earth, the air which expands our breasts. But I wonder. Were it not for our ability to sin and err, …
An important lesson has been learned as a result of this fracas (and forgive me, but this is “The Journey of a Self-Centred Soul”) — it reveals the fragility of faith. Those words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that before the Hour holding onto one’s religion would be like holding onto burning hot …
Sorry, don’t mean to be rude, but please, everyone, just shut up. The Book of James in the New Testament – Luther’s Epistle of Straw – always used to appeal to me during those agnostic days. Some words stay with me even now. …think of a ship: large though it may be and driven by …
