By Sadia Kidwai
A few weeks ago, I found myself wandering through the Omar Khayyam exhibition at the British Library. The exhibition celebrated the 150th anniversary of Edward Fitzgerald’s publication of ‘The Ruibaiyat of Omar Khayyam’ – it was a translation that would spark a cultural phenomenon, gaining popularity in the fashionable ranks of the British elite. These verses, written by a Persian polymath in the 12th century, became a poetic sensation in the Victorian arts scene. Admirers...
By Enayat-Ullah Ahmad
Something struck me the other day whilst flicking through Facebook. I don’t have many white friends. Hell, I have around 20, from a list of 450. Damn. There’s a common conception I feel amongst many English people and non-Muslims in general - that Muslims 'don’t mix'. Are we really that bad?
I think it’s important for members of the Muslim community to make that extra effort to integrate, but recognise it can be difficult at times. Like on my Law course for example....
By Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari
Confronting Social Malaise in the Muslim Community
Considerable material progress in recent decades has brought about some serious social challenges and issues of social malaise in developed societies. Commercialisation of life, sexualisation of our young people and individualism that often expresses itself through self-gratification are now haunting post-modern Britain. The Guardian reported on 23 June 2009 that Ofsted inspectors investigating an increase in exclusions...
The problem of violent extremism, which tends to dominate the headlines, is very real. But unfortunately, the headlines can often obscure the complex social factors from which the threat of terrorism emerges as a final result. Currently, the government’s approach to preventing violent extremism or countering terrorism is in danger of dealing overwhelmingly with symptoms, rather than root structural causes. There is a tendency toward ‘widening the net’ in the effort to find evidence of terrorist...
By Syed Tohel Ahmed
Addiction does not discriminate based on colour or creed; it strips victims of their background and is a great equaliser. The United Kingdom has the highest level of dependent drug use in Europe. The British Crime Survey 08-09 estimates that in England and Wales alone a staggering 11.9 million people aged 16 to 59 have used illicit drugs at some point in their lives, with around 1.9 million having used in the last month.
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