Muslim Organisations and the Environment

Keeping in line with environmental week, I've decided to write about Muslim organisations and the environment.

Without a doubt, the environment is very important, and you'd expect Muslims to be right at the forefront of doing good work in this field - however, it seems that this is not the case at all.

There are very few Muslim organisations that are doing something: LINE, IFEES and MPACUK (they have a section called Green Muslims which I think is really useful) are the ones that come to mind.

I have to admit, I would've rather had said the names of mosques instead of these organisations, because the mosque should be the are where we go to learn about Islam in every sense of the word.

Imagine if our mosques taught us to be more environmentally friendly, imagine the postive impact on society. Yes, caring for the environment is common sense, but the mosque could be the centre from where we could learn how to refine our need to help the environment.

I know I seem to have moved onto the mosques, but that's because they are so important for Muslims, yet the mosque leaders don't seem to see this. I think it's great we have some organisations doing something, but imagine if our mosques were active (or atleast more active than they are), then we wouldn't need other organisations. Our mosques would be the centre of reforming society.

In conclusion, our mosques really need to shape up if they want to be the beacons of light they once were - may Allah guide us all to being true Muslims, and not just people who follow a bunch of rituals. Ameen.

“You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men, you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah…”

(Surah Al Imran 3:110)

Mosques Get A Battering!

Good old Mosques seem to be receiving a battering lately. First signs of plans for a new Mosque in East London and an orchestrated email campaign is whipped up to spread false statements. Ken Livingstone, who I nickname as Champion Ken for his bravery and ruthlessness when it comes to defending Palestinians, revealed an organised email campaign around an online poll being conducted by the Evening Standard aimed at stirring up communal hatred by spreading entirely false statements about plans for a new mosque in East London. Then the controversial poll was removed after Champion Ken exposed its hidden agenda. You see it was no ordinary poll and thus the need to expose it's motives. The poll asked readers to vote whether or not they were in favour of the Mayor spending £100 million of public money on a new Mosque in East London however Mr Livingstone has repeatedly denied any public funds would be spent on the project. Mr Livingstone said his office has been alerted to a series of emails being sent which make what he calls "a series of false claims about the mosque proposals in such a way as to stir up communal hatred" leading him to write to Veronica Wadley, Editor of the Evening Standard. I mean come on, even the BNP were urging it's fans to vote in the poll! http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/

Then we have an alleged arson in a Mosque in Nottingham:

A Nottingham mosque has been severely damaged in a fire described by a leading imam as "an act of terrorism against Muslims". Police and fire investigators are trying to determine the exact cause of the blaze at the Madni Masjid Mosque on Alberta Terrace in Forest Fields. Imam Raza ul Haq said he believed paint was thrown around the inside of the mosque and then set alight.

Then the whole Ruth Kelly and the £600,000 she has floating around at her dispense:

The government is planning to intervene in some mosques to support Muslims who want to marginalise extremists. Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will announce a new role for the Charity Commission, strengthening its task of overseeing religious institutions. A £600,000 faith unit within the commission will help Muslims strengthen governance and leadership in mosques.

Ms Kelly's department has changed government strategy by launching talks with a broader range of Muslim groups. But at the same time, the largest body, the Muslim Council of Britain, has fallen out of favour, leading to claims that ministers are talking only to those prepared to agree with government. http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/

I'm not so sure about the MCB being involved with this. Although they supposedly represnt Britain's Muslims, I've still to be convinced they are the most effective organisation to represent us. They good - but not that good. I think they are not as in tune with the younger generation as they claim. The dosh Ruth Kelly has needs to be spent on improving the state of our Mosques - indeed. But with the current apathetic and backward Mosque leaders? Hell no!

If the Mosque elders finally realise that now comes the time for them to make way for the younger generation to get involved with the running of the Mosques - the pillars of our community - in order to reform, improve and defend our communities and liberties then by all means i'll give 'em money! But sadly, this doesn't seem like it's in the pipelines for a while and our Mosques will continue to be run by men who don't speak English, who cannot apprehend that they must teach Muslims (via program's/classes/syllabuses) to engage within the democratic systems in order to make an effective change for us here as well as for our brothers and sisters worldwide, who refuses to open its doors to the non-Muslim community and thus the development of respect and harmony between people of different faiths is non-existant, and who slams doors in the faces of its women, sisters, mothers as they beg old men to let them engage within the Mosques and be allowed prayer space in the House of Allah.

No, not until then...

"Reach Out To Israel, Arabs Urged"

I don't think everybody needs to be told as to what is going on in Palestine. Our mothers are being raped there this very second, and another one of our brothers just got shot in the head.

But I can't believe that Arab countries are being asked to reach out to Israel! Below is the article from the BBC

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called on Arab nations to reach out to Israel.

Ms Rice was speaking in Jerusalem after three days of meetings with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders.

She said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to meet every two weeks.

Ms Rice also said there was a "path of co-operation" with the new Palestinian unity government.
The secretary of state was speaking on the eve of the opening of an Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

'Complex' issues

Ms Rice urged Arab nations to take a more active role in regional peace efforts, although she said the presence of the militant Hamas faction in the Palestinian government made the issues "more complex".

"The Arab states must be reaching out to Israel... to show Israel that they accept its place in the Middle East," she said.

Ms Rice said there could be co-operation with the new Palestinian unity government but stressed again that Hamas must renounce violence.

Hamas has refused to adhere to three key international demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and honour previous peace agreements.

Ms Rice said Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas would meet regularly and that she would attend some of the meetings.

"They achieved something, which is the very regularised meetings between the two of them, in which they will not just talk about their day-to-day issues, but also about a political horizon," she said.

Ms Rice said it was "not inconceivable" for a peace deal to be reached before the end of US President George W Bush's tenure.

But she added: "We're not yet at the... [stage] of final status" negotiations.

I can't believe this - it's like they're saying "why don't you Arabs do more? - it's all your fault".

Yes the Arab nations should do more - they should help their Palestinian brothers and sisters by forcing the Western countries to see that they can't be paid up (as so many of the arabs have already) and that they want Israel to no longer exist - everyone can live in Palestine in peace. If it was possible in the past then surely it is possible now.

The part that really made my blood boil though was when Condoleeza Rice said:

"The Arab states must be reaching out to Israel... to show Israel that they accept its place in the Middle East," she said.

Israel is murdering innocent people day in and day out. The only crime of the Palestinians is that they are Palestinians.

But how do we stop this? How can we end the killing of the Palestinians?

The answer lies in our mental ressurection. We shouldn't stay oblivious to the butchering of the Palestinians. It's our foreign policy (along with America's ) which allows Israel to get away with murder.

Change the foreign policy, then you change the future of the Palestinans to something that they can look forward to.

Our mosques and our MPs have too long allowed injustice to prevail - now we have to hold them to account and show Allah that we are Muslims who do care and want to please Him.

If we politically activate then we can ensure that Palestinians get the justice that they deserve.

Women in Mosques

I came across this interesting video on the MPACUK website. It's a segment done by Islam Channel about women trying to get their (rightful) places in the mosques.

Here's the video:



Lol I loved the interview where the committee member says he can't find any women who are interested in being on the committee but he won't advertise for the positions!