“Reclaiming Islam from the Jihadists” – Bro. Haytham

Author: MR
Filed under: America, Dawah, Islam, Terrorism
Date: Oct 10,2009 | 08:25 PM

I attended IlmFest | 2009 at Baltimore, MD this past weekend and was blown away by this one lecture that captivated the hearts and minds of about 1000 attendees. Shaykh Waleed Basyouni, PhD. spoke this last Saturday about some of those who according to him, misunderstood Islam and specifically the matter of Jihad.

I will not discuss that halal and haram of this matter, since I am not a scholar or even an advance student of knowledge, rather I will discuss the attitude of those who attacked the shaykh and show their ignorance and lack of manners.

First though, I must say it is clear that those who are of this misguided group are not on the right path under the impression that they are heading to Jannah by killing innocent people. They are in a matter of confusion and I believe what they are doing is not correct nor is it from this divine religion. They have lost their chance by going in to this path regardless of their intentions. Allah said in Surat AlKahf verse 103 and 104, ” Say, should we tell you about those who lost their deeds? they are those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.”

Continue reading here.

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We shouldn’t hate on Shaykh al-Azhar Tantawi on his opinion, instead Protest against the Egyptian Universities ban on Niqab

Author: MR
Filed under: Arabic, Article, Islam
Date: Oct 8,2009 | 08:08 PM

Update: I am not defending Sh. Tantawi. All I am saying that it serves not purpose to hate on him, calling him various derogatory names. It won’t help to remove the ban on the niqab from the universities. We have to make dua and protest against the universities and government of Egypt to remove the ban inshaAllah.

~~Once I get this translated~~, you will see why.

Translation of this article:

Shaykh Tantanwi said he respects the niqab and that there’s no harm for niqaabis to come to his office in order to end this issue. He also confirmed that the niqab is a custom and not from worship (عبادة) and at the same time he stated he has no objection to it.

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Niqaabis prevented from going to school – AlJazeera Video

Author: MR
Filed under: Islam, Sad, Video
Date: Oct 8,2009 | 11:49 AM

Where is the freedom?

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What are other scholars saying of Hosni Mubarak’s Shaykh’s (Tantawi) anti-Niqaab fatwa

Author: MR
Filed under: Islam
Date: Oct 7,2009 | 10:51 AM

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi wrote a nice sarcastic article on the issue here. I highly recommend everyone to read it. SeekingIlm has also posted a nice response here. I’ve also posted a news article below from AlJazeera sharing other scholars views:

Muslim scholars have questioned plans by the head of Egypt’s most famous university to ban female students from veiling their faces on its premises and affiliated educational establishments.

Shaikh Ali Abu al-Hasan, the former head of the Fatwa Council at the Islamic Studies Institute (ISI) in Cairo, said although it was not required by Islam for women to cover their faces, Al-Azhar University should allow women to chose what they want to wear.
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AlMaghrib Institute steps up and puts knowledge into action in America while combating extremism

Author: MR
Filed under: Afghanistan, Africa, America, Asia, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Pakistan, Somalia, Terrorism
Date: Oct 5,2009 | 05:24 PM

There are many organizations, schools, institutes, and places of learning that are teaching and spreading the knowledge of Islam. AlMaghrib Institute is probably one of the most popular ones in America and probably with Canada and UK included as well. This past weekend I attended a special gathering called Ilmfest, which is AlMaghrib’s annual convention in America. This year it was held in Baltimore, Maryland. The word of mouth and hype of the event reached as far as getting a front page story on the Baltimore Sun. They even covered the session called “Reclaiming Islam from the Jihadists” by Shaykh Waleed Basyouni here.

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Saudi Arabia builds first University for men and women, Scholar doesn’t like it and loses his position

Author: MR
Filed under: Islam, News, Saudi Arabia
Date: Oct 5,2009 | 10:53 AM

King Abdullah builds a university for men and women and allows women to drive within the university as well as not wear the niqab. A scholar from the Saudi leading ulema council, Shaykh Saad al-Shethry, complains and King Abdullah removes him from his position. I guess we can no longer say women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has sacked a senior cleric who criticised a new science and technology university which opened in September.

The cleric, Sheikh Saad al-Shethry, said the mixing of sexes in any university was evil and a great sin.

He demanded the curriculum should be vetted by Islamic scholars to prevent teaching of “alien ideologies”.

The $7bn university near Jeddah, named after King Abdullah, is a key project of the reform-minded Saudi monarch.

In what is being seen as a rare intervention, a royal decree removed Sheikh Saad from Saudi Arabia’s most senior council of religious scholars, or ulema.

No reason was given publicly for the removal.

The timing follows the sheikh’s stringent criticism of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), whose administration lies outside the control of the cleric-dominated ministry of education.

“The recommendation is to set up Sharia (Islamic law) committees at this university to oversee these studies and look into what violates the Sharia,” Sheikh Saad was quoted saying last week in the Saudi press.

The government hopes the technologically advanced centre with its relaxed social constraints will help modernise the kingdom’s deeply conservative society.

In contrast to the strict rules outside the sprawling campus, women are allowed to drive and are not required to wear veils in classes.

Source

64 Comments

Islamophobia at Stony Brook University

Author: MR
Filed under: America, Islam, Mainstream Media, New York, Religion, Sad, Take Action, Video
Date: Oct 2,2009 | 09:17 PM

This is really shocking. I went to Stony Brook University and I absolutely loved the community there. I had never experienced any type of bigotry or hate crime there. It’s really sad that these guys had to print the cartoon and spread it around campus. What would they accomplish by this? I hope and pray that Stony Brook campus police catch those involved.

Go Seawolves!

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Imam Suhaib Webb coming to Ilmfest in Baltimore this weekend!

Author: MR
Filed under: Events, Islam, Maryland
Date: Oct 2,2009 | 07:03 PM

suhaib-webb

InshaAllah, Imam Suhaib Webb will be speaking at Ilmfest 2009 in Baltimore this weekend. Ilmfest is a two day conference organized by AlMaghrib Institute. This year it will be at the Baltimore convention center on Saturday October 2 to Sunday October 3, 2009. Click here for more information and be sure to register.

It’s $30 if you pay online. If you didn’t pay before, then it’s $40 at the door.

Sources: AlMaghrib Forums, Twitter

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