Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam Biography, Audio

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The Quran: A New Translation - The eternal present tense Preface: The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam By Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Lecture 1: Knowledge and Religious Experience More.. Focus on Islam, Jihad and Terrorism Condemning "Islamist" terrorist attack on Mumbai in harshest terms Can Ulema save Muslims from Radical Islamism? Indian Ulema have no time to lose, must call warlike Quranic surahs obsolete. Jihadism gets sustenance from verses of war in the Quran More.. Dr. Zakir Naik on Yazeed and Osama bin Laden - A New Age Islam Debate Unveiling Zakir Naik: Terror cannot be fought with Terror Comments - 148 On Televangelist Zakir Naik: Don't give in to pretenders Comments - 31 Beware of the Kafir-manufacturing factories: Maulana Nadeem-ul-Wajidi responds to the Fatawahs of Kufr against Dr. Zakir Naik Comments - 41 Unity among Muslims and Dr. Zakir Naik's Evil: A Point of View Comments - 163

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Islam, Women and Feminism 10 Nov 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com Women & Islam: The Rise and Rise of the Convert By Richard Peppiatt 06 November 2011 Record numbers of young, white British women are converting to Islam, yet many a re reporting a lack of help as they get used to their new religion, according to several surveys. As Muslims celebrate the start of the religious holiday of Eid today and hundred s of thousands from around the world converge on Mecca for the Haj, it emerged t hat of the 5,200 Britons who converted to Islam last year, more than half are wh ite and 75 per cent of them women. In the past 10 years some 100,000 British people have converted to Islam, of who m some three-quarters are women, according to the latest statistics. This is a s ignificant increase on the 60,000 Britons in the previous decade, according to r esearchers based at Swansea University. While the number of UK converts accelerates, many of the British women who adopt Islam say they have a daily struggle to assimilate their new beliefs within a w ider culture that both implicitly and explicitly positions them as outsiders, re gardless of their Western upbringing. More than three-quarters told researchers they had experienced high levels of co nfusion after conversion, due to the conflicting ways Islam was presented to the m. While other major religions have established programmes for guiding new belie vers through the rigours of their faith, Islam still lacks any such network, esp ecially outside the Muslim hubs of major cities. Many mosques still bar women from worship or provide scant resources for their n eeds, forcing them to rely on competing cultural and ideological interpretations within books or the internet for religious support. A recent study of converts in Leicester, for example, found that 93 per cent of mosques in the region recognised they lacked services for new Muslims, yet only 7 per cent said they were making efforts to address the shortfall. Many of the young women the average age of conversion is 27 are also coming to t erms with experiences of discrimination for the first time, despite the only vis ible difference being a headscarf. Yet few find easy sanctuary within the establ ished Muslim population, with the majority forming their closest bonds with fell ow converts rather than born Muslims. Kevin Brice, author of the Swansea study A Minority Within a Minority, said to b e the most comprehensive study of British Muslim converts, added: "White Muslim converts are caught between two increasingly distant camps. Their best relations

hips remain with other converts, because of their shared experiences, while ther e is very little difference between the quality of their relationship with other Muslims or non-Muslims. "My research also found converts came in two types: some are converts of conveni ence, who adopt the religion because of a life situation such as meeting a Musli m man, although the religion has little discernible impact on their day-to-day l ives. For others it is a conversion of conviction where they feel a calling and embrace the religion robustly. "That's not to say the two are mutually exclusive sometimes converts start out o n their religious path through convenience and become converts of conviction lat er on." Another finding revealed by the Leicester study was that despite Western portrai ts of Islam casting it as oppressive to women, a quarter of female converts were attracted to the religion precisely because of thestatus it affords them. Some analysts have argued that dizzying social and cultural upheavals in Britain over the past decades have meant that far from adopting an alien way of life, s ome female Muslim converts are re-embracing certain aspects of mid-20th-century Britain, such as rigid gender demarcation, rather than feeling expected to juggl e career and family. The first established Muslim communities started in Britain in the 1860s, when Y emani sailors and Somali labourers settled around the ports of London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Hull. Many married local women who converted to Islam, often suffe ring widespread discrimination as a result. They also acted as a bridge between the two cultures, encouraging understanding among indigenous dwellers and helping to integrate the Muslim community they had joined. Today, there is growing recognition among community leaders that the la test generation of female converts has an equally vital role to play in fosterin g dialogue between an increasingly secular British majority and a minority relig ion, as misunderstood as it is vilified. Kristiane Backer, 45 Television presenter and author, London I converted to Islam in 1995 after Imran Khan introduced me to the faith. At the time I was a presenter for MTV. I used to have all the trappings of success, ye t I felt an inner emptiness and somewhat dissatisfied in my life. The entertainment industry is very much about "if you've got it, flaunt it", whi ch is the exact opposite to the more inward-oriented spiritual attitude of my ne w faith. My value system changed and God became the centre point of my life and what I was striving towards. I recognise some new converts feel isolated but, despite there being even fewer resources when I converted than there are now, it isn't so much an issue I've fa ced. I've always felt welcomed and embraced by the Muslims I met and developed a circle of friends and teachers. It helps living in London, because there is so much to engage in as part of the Muslim community. Yet, even in the capital you can be stared at on the Tube for wearing a headscarf. I usually don't wear one i n the West except when praying. I wear the scarf in front of my heart though! I always try to explain to people that I've converted to Islam, not to any cultu re. Suppression of women, honour killings or forced marriages are all cultural a berrations, not Islamic ones. Islam is also about dignity and respect for yourse

lf and your femininity. Even in the dating game, Muslim men are very respectful. Women are cherished as mothers, too as a Muslim woman you are not expected to d o it all." Amy Sall, 28 Retail assistant, Middlesbrough I'd say I'm still a bit of a party animal but I'm also a Muslim. I do go out on the town with the girls and I don't normally wear my headscarf I know I should d o, but I like to do my hair and look nice! I know there are certain clothes I sh ouldn't wear either, even things that just show off your arms, but I still do. M y husband would like me to be a better Muslim he thinks drinking is evil so it d oes cause rows. I haven't worshipped in a mosque since I got married, I find it intimidating. I worry about doing something wrong; people whispering because they see my blonde hair and blue eyes. Middleborough is a difficult place to be a Muslim who isn't Asian you tend to be treated like an outsider. Once, I was out wearing my headsc arf and a local man shouted abuse. It was weird because I'm white and he was whi te, but all he saw was the scarf, I suppose. It did make me angry. My family wer e surprisingly fine with me converting, probably because they thought it would r ein me in from being a bit wild. Nicola Penty-Alvarez, 26 Full-time mother, Uxbridge I was always interested in philosophy and the meaning of life and when I came ac ross Islam it all just clicked. In the space of four or five months I went from going to raves to wearing a headscarf, praying five times a day and generally be ing quite pious I did occasionally smoke though. I felt very welcomed into the Muslim community, but it was a mainly white conver t community. My impression of the Asian community in west London was that women felt sidelined and were encouraged to stay at home and look after the men rather than attend mosque. I think this was more a cultural than religious thing, thou gh. Non-Muslims certainly treat you differently when you're wearing a headscarf they 're less friendly and as a smiley person I found that hard. After a year-and-a-h alf of being a Muslim I stopped. I remember the moment perfectly. I was in a bea utiful mosque in Morocco praying beside an old lady and something just came over me. I thought: 'What the hell am I doing? How have I got into this?' It just su ddenly didn't feel right. Needless to say my husband, who was a fellow convert, wasn't impressed. He remained devout and it put a lot of strain on our relations hip. We split up, but are on amicable terms now. I'm not really in contact with the Muslim friends I made we drifted apart. I don't regret the experience. There is so much that I learnt spiritually that I 've kept and I haven't gone back to my hard partying ways. Donna Tunkara Warehouse operative, Middleborough I was a bit of a tear away growing up drinking, smoking, running away from home and being disrespectful to my parents. I converted 10 years ago because I met a Muslim man but I've probably become more devout than him.

Sometimes, I miss going shopping for clothes to hit the town and then going home and getting ready with my mates, having a laugh. The thing is no one is forcing me not to it's my choice. It did come as a shock to my family, who are Christian. They've not rejected me, but they find it difficult to understand. I feel bad because I don't now attend weddings, funerals or christenings because they're often at pubs and clubs and I won't step inside. There needs to be more resources for women who convert. I know some mosques that won't allow women in. But in the Koran there is an emphasis on women being educ ated. I've learnt about the religion through my husband's family and books if yo u want support you have to look for it. It's taken time to regain an identity I' m comfortable with. Because I'm mixed race and a Muslim ,people don't see me as British but what's important is that I know who I am. Source: The Independent URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamWomenAndFeminism_1.aspx?ArticleID=58 82

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COMMENTS 11/12/2011 4:44:27 AM Ashok Sharma One must accept it plainly that most religions come from the period of human his tory when humans had little idea what was going on. The knowledge and science we re in their infancy. The holy books were an attempt to meet our inescapable dema nd for knowledge (as well as for comfort, reassurance and other infantile needs) . Today even an educated child knows much more about the natural order than any of the founders of religions. Hence, to try to find all solutions in such books is not only unreasonable but stupid. It reminds me of the claims of some RSS act ivists in my school who claimed that the western scientists stole Indian Vedas a nd invented aeroplanes and atomic energy. In addition most organised religions a re violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, in vested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coerc ive toward children (brainwashing them before they can understand).

11/11/2011 2:52:11 PM Ghulam Mohiyuddin Mr. Nezami, as you yourself suggest, the question of women's travelling alone is tied up with the question of safety. The safety standards in 7th century Arabia were quite different from the safety standards in many countries today. The rul es too must vary accordingly. One must see the principle behind a rule rather th an be literalistic and rigid. The less "must follow" rules we have, the better.

11/11/2011 1:50:43 PM sadaf Why not Islam honour men and let women take care of men? Is it that Islam consid ers men as inferior than women? Is it because men cannot be raped? But what is r ape if not overpowering someone by force, because if the consent is there, then

it isnt rape but adultery/fornication/consensual sex. I dont buy the theory that men are inferior in Islam; that they are made to toil for everyone. Such concept actually stemmed from the chivalry showcasing inferio rity complex of men, who wanted to impress upon the womenfolk that men are not a s inferior as they are thought to be by womenfolk. They acted as if they arent fo ol but are just pretending to be ones only to appear more mannered. The pretend as if they felt no pain and no fear. Their false presentation of themselves to b e macho became a fashion of the time, which womenfolk made good use of. However women never let go the God gifted privilege they had before hand and later which got reinforced in the name of Islam, just because she could cry about being rap ed. Or is it because that she could be genuine and truthful in her cry while men pre tended of no-cry? Is it such a pretension that make men a liar and therefore inf erior and thus not worthy of being taken care of by women? But anyway, men have chosen such a fate for themselves. Women have to be carried everywhere they orde r them to be taken. I mean this is nothing but slavery. Because if men and women are equal in Islam then why should women have privileges? While men are suppose d to take care of a maximum of four wives plus any other women within his househ old who do not have exclusive slaves for themselves, women on the other hand are under obligation to take care of just one-fourth of the guy if he has committed to other three female masters of him. Or at most, if the guy hasnt committed to other women, then only she is to take care of just this guy and no one else. Not even her son, or even her brother. We know of examples where men keep their brothers in law on high priority, besid e their mandatory responsibility towards their brother and their sons and even f or their brothers son. This is absolutely pro-women and anti-men equation. Men ar e made to go out alone and earn. Any crisis comes up, again it is mans turn to ac t hero. Even if a goat stucks her head in a pot it is men who are called for res cue. They are made to feel for a while by womenfolk as if they are the guardians and once they break the earthen pot and act smart to free the goat, they are ag ain back to their status of slave and sent out to working it out for women, out and alone. Islam just accepted the prevalent practice without trying to disturb the social setup dominated by women. It was a wise thing to do, else Islam wouldnt have had seen such success. Even Islam thought it foolish to take womenfolk head on. And that is the actual reason why it has not undone the privilege of women for not t raveling alone without her slave. However as Muslims we cannot agree to the alle gation that in Islam, men and women aren t equal. We prefer to say that the role s are divided equitably. After all, the idea of equality sounds so Islamic and y et we do not have equality between men and women in real so we agree to re-word the equation between them by equitably .

11/11/2011 9:47:27 AM Raihan Nezami Aspects of Islamic Faith - Why women must not travel alone By ADIL SALAHI Published: Nov 10, 2011 20:57 Updated: Nov 10, 2011 22:15 Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, an Ansari companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who was very close to him said: I heard the Prophet mentioning four things that I ad mired: That a woman must not travel a distance of two days unless she is accompa nied by her husband or a mahram relative; two days are not allowed to fast which

are the two days of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha; no voluntary prayer may be off ered after two obligatory ones: After Asr until the sun has set and after Fajr u ntil the sun has risen; travel may be undertaken only to three mosques: the Sacr ed Mosque (in Makkah), this mosque of mine (in Madinah) and the Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem). (Related by Al-Bukhari) The first of the four restrictions concerns a woman traveling alone. The Prophet makes clear that when a woman travels, she must be accompanied by her husband o r a close relative whom she can never marry, such as her father, brother, son, n ephew, etc. In this Hadith the distance of restricted travel is estimated as tha t covered in two days. This relates to the time of the Prophet when all travel w as on camels or horses. However, other Hadiths indicate longer and shorter trave ls. Hence, scholars agree that the restriction applies to what is socially consi dered as travel. Some people imagine that the restriction is an aspect of what they allege to be an inferior status Islam gives to women. Nothing is further from the truth. It i s indeed the reverse. Islam honors women and takes care of them. As a lone trave ler may face unforeseen problems, Islam ensures that women are well looked after , requiring that they should be accompanied by men who are certain to take care of them. So, what distance can a woman travel today, with our fast means of transport tha t cross continents in a few hours? To answer this question, we need to look at h ow scholars considered this restriction. They defined the aim behind it, which i s to ensure that a woman could travel safely. Therefore, in addition to the rela tives mentioned in the Hadith, they also added trusted companionship. They maintai n that a woman can travel with a group of women, or a mixed group which includes women traveling with their husbands or mahram relatives. They speak about this in detail, always aiming to ensure the safety of women travelers. A woman who wants to travel from Cairo to Alexandria, for example, without a com panion, has several options: To travel by train, coach or car. The distance is o ver 200 km. The first two means of transport are much safer than traveling by ca r if she is driving alone. Her car may develop a problem on the way and she may be stranded. On the other hand, if she goes by train or coach and a problem deve lops, she is much safer as she will be with a large number of passengers. Again, we look at her situation at her destination. If she is well looked after, then there is no problem with her travel. The Hadith also places a measure of responsibility on families. Every family mus t look after its women. Leaving them to travel alone and exposed to risks is not acceptable. If a womans travel is necessary, then her family must provide her wi th safe travel, including providing a male companion who is either her husband o r a close mahram

11/11/2011 7:17:59 AM Qasim Islam is the best religion which provide a complete code of life and those who a re in search of true teaching and want a right path they feel attracted towards this relgion. its true that Islam is the largest spreading relgioin in the world and INSHALLAH one day it will be everywhere in the world. the Musllim of India should preach the true teaching of our Islam in India so that here People also g et aware of the true relgion as is being done by Zakir Naik. I think we muslim s hould unite and present the true teaching of Islam to all non Muslims.

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