islam today - issue 18 / April 2014

issue 18 April

UK £3.00

vol.2 2014

Engagement; strategy for survival Growing into a better Muslim • Self-Knowledge • Animal rights

Editorial team April 2014 Issue, 18 Vol, 2

Published Monthly

islam today magazine intends to address the concerns and aspirations of a vibrant Muslim community by providing readers with inspiration, information, a sense of community and solutions through its unique and specialised contents. It also sets out to help Muslims and non-Muslims better understand and appreciate the nature of a dynamic faith.

Managing Director

Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour

Chief Editor

Amir De Martino

Managing Editor

Anousheh Mireskandari

Political Editor

Reza Murshid

Health Editor

Laleh Lohrasbi

Art Editor

Moriam Grillo

Layout and Design

Sasan Sarab – Michele Paolicelli

Design and Production

PSD UK Ltd.

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From the Editor 5

It’s not just about meat

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News from around the world

News

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Information

info@islam-today.net

Letters to the Editor

letters@islam-today.net

Addendum ‘Chic- Art-Resistance’ exhibition

International Children’s Book Day (2nd April) islam today selects a list of Islamic children’s books as possible reading options for Muslim families

Contributions & Submissions submit@islam-today.net subscriptions@islam-today.net

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Gaza Parkour Team

Life & Community

Contact us

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Review 26

George Clooney’s new film is a thinly disguised American propaganda piece, according to Jalal Parsa

The Shapers of Tomorrow

How to Help the Downhearted

Cover 30

Sabnum Dharamsi suggests some guidelines to keep in mind when dealing with those in need of compassion and understanding

Alexander Khaleeli

Jalal Parsa

Ali Jawad

Julia Khadija Lafene

Batool Haydar

Mohammad Haghir

Charlotte Dando

Sabnum Dharamsi

Elham Ostad-Saffari

Tahereh Shafiee

Frank Julian Gelli

Arts 22

In the Spotlight

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Feature 34

Masterpiece

Opinion

Islamic Centre of England 140 Maida Vale London, W9 1QB - UK

Photography

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ISSN 2051-2503

Heritage

Insane hatred At the outset of the Ukraine crisis, a hysterical western media attempted to discredit Russia by any means possible.

Frank Gelli questions their motives

Sami Musa and Mohammed Khatib

Publisher:

Animal rights and the legitimate boundaries of human manipulation The use of animals in scientific research makes Islamic directives relating to their welfare even more relevant

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Engagement; strategy for survival Europe is making it increasingly difficult for religious minorities to publicly manifest their beliefs. Alexander Khaleeli believes Muslims and Jews are now the target of policies designed to attack some of their religious practices

Mohamed Al-Zammar - visual artist

Samia Halaby and Nabil Anani

Disclaimer: Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of the publisher or islam today. All information in this magazine is verified to the best of the authors’ and the publisher’s ability. However, islam today shall not be liable or responsible for loss or damage arising from any users’ reliance on information obtained from the magazine.

The Monuments Men

Muslim youth are not being allowed to fulfil their responsibilities in line with the role envisaged for them by their faith, says Ali Jawad

www.facebook.com/islamtodaymag

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Back Cover Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Muscat, Oman Inaugurated by Sultan of Oman on May 4, 2001 The Mosque has the second largest hand woven prayer carpet in the world

Performance Art

Hegemony Mohammad Haghir explains how cultural dominance is achieved by powerful nations

Sliman Mansour

Islamic Centre of England

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From the

Editor Faith

Changing Minds: BME Mental Health Conference Manchester

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Growing into a Better Muslim In the process of becoming a better Muslim, sometimes we just have to see the bigger picture, says Batool Haydar

It’s not just about meat

Save A Life 2014 (London) - Charity dinner and concert Conversation with author Dan Glazebrook - Islamic Human Rights Commission Wise Men From the East: Zoroastrian Traditions in Persia and Beyond - British Museum

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Self-Knowledge Understanding who we are is a necessary first step towards understanding God, believes Julia Khadija Lafene

Assessing the Impact of Interfaith Activities - Woolf Institute ‘Travelling while Muslim: Schedule 7’ - Islamic Human Rights Commission Contemporary Moroccan Literature - P21 Gallery

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Interfaith 54

he cover story of this issue

by Alexander Khaleeli is pegged on the Danish ban on ritual slaughtering that will undoubtedly affect the Muslim community. While the ban appears to be motivated by a desire to conform to European Union directives designed to minimise the suffering of livestock at the time of slaughter, Khaleeli detects some inconsistencies in the way Europeans have shown their concerns to the welfare of animals destined for slaughter and the overall treatment of animals in the food industry. This leads the author to question the motives for singling out Halal and Kosher slaughter as more stressful to animals than other methods, even though this opinion finds no consensus in the scientific community.

The interfaith movement: Learning to see differences differently Discussion about our differences can help to build trust and help us grow in our respective faiths, writes Charlotte Dando

Health 58

Mental health stigma One in four people in the UK experience some sort of mental illness. Laleh Lohrasbi looks at the stigma attached to these patients even after recovery

Science 62

Time to tackle our sugar addiction Elham Ostad-Saffari believes it is high time we tackled our ever rising intake of sugar

What & Where 66

Listings and Events Friday Nights Thought Forum - Islamic Centre of England The Role of the Righteous Muslims - Stroud Green and Haringey Library Death and Resurrection Course - (AIM) Islamic Centre of England Discourse, Power, Resistance Conference 2014: Faith and Reason- University of Greenwich Play: Oh My Sweet Land - Young Vic ‘Cairo Stories’ by Judith Barry - Waterside Contemporary Showcasing Islamic Studies in the UK - (BRAIS) John McIntyre Conference Centre Al-Biruni On India – Revisiting Abu Rayhan al-Biruni and his Indica - Birkbeck College

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Glossary of Islamic Symbols The letter (s) after the name of the Prophet Muhammad(s) stands for the Arabic phrase sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam, meaning: “May God bless him [Muhammad] and grant him peace”.

The letter (a) after the name of the holy Imams from the progeny of the Prophet Muhammad(s), and for his daughter Fatimah(a) stands for the Arabic phrase ‘alayhis-salaam, ‘alayhassalaam (feminine) and ‘alayhimus-salaam (plural) meaning respectively: (God’s) Peace be with him/ her/ or them.

One cannot avoid suspicion when a society that claims to operate on the basis of knowledge comes up with such regulations. Religious diversity has brought to the surface questions that multicultural societies are obliged to address. How do we harmonise rules within the area of religious requirements in a way that guarantees equality for all without generating conflicts or discrimination? How can we arrive at a balanced solution taking into consideration animal welfare and the need to allow communities their right to exercise their right to practise their faith? How can today’s democracies incorporate the needs of faith communities without contradicting the basic principles upon which they are based, such as equality

and secularity in the political system?

How can we safeguard diversity of diets dictated by our different religious needs and at the same time be sensitive to an ever growing awareness of the need to treat animals as sentient beings?

In the UK legislation and regulations drafted to protect the basic needs of religious minorities have shown to the rest of Europe that it is possible and necessary to value both. All this has been achieved by a mutual engagement between community leaders and government institutions Elsewhere in Europe the growing presence of religious communities has placed new demands on authorities to protect cultural and religious diversity.

The existing rules are often inadequate to deal with these phenomena and new agreements are necessary in order to ensure better protection of religious freedom and accommodation of diversity.

how we should interact with animals.

Some insights into this are given in the article of Tahereh Shafiee on animal rights in Islam.

Muslims should be fully involved in the debate on how to minimise the suffering of all God’s creatures and also engage politically and socially if we want to have a say in our own future.

The food issues we face today go beyond ritual slaughter incorporating modes of consumption in different regions of the planet, methods of production and distribution of food, lifestyles, of sustainable development and the future of the Earth.

The conflicts surrounding religious dietary requirements are an important example of how rules and regulations which are apparently neutral can erect serious obstacles to the observance of one’s religion and lead to an erosion of human dignity that all of us are called upon to defend. •

From another angle, multiculturalism and multi-confessionalism have given greater visibility to different religious practices (of which ritual slaughter is one) generating situations of conflict.

We are thus engaged in discussions between science and religious practices, ethics and religion, secular ethics and religious ones, recognised human rights and prospective animal rights, animal and human dignity, different conceptions of dignity….

The religious teachings of Islam exemplified in the life of the Prophet Muhammad(s) give us clear directives on

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News Central African Republic

OIC Sends Fact Finding Mission to CAR

The world’s largest bloc of Islamic countries has launched a special mission to investigate the crisis in the war-torn Central African Republic.

Sheikh Tidiane Gadio, a former Senegalese foreign minister, told the press in Dakar, Senegal, ‘the aim for us is to save this country.’

Gadio was named by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) last month to lead a high-level fact-finding mission to the Central African Republic.

As the tragedy of ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the Central African Republic unfolds, Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, summed up the Muslim experience in that country as only ‘a nightmare’.

In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Bouckaert highlighted the sad state of affairs facing CAR Muslims. He wrote: ‘Most places I … visited in a five-day journey were emptied of Muslim residents, despite the presence of peacekeepers in many towns. The outnumbered French and African Union forces have often acted too passively, unable to prevent the looting and burning of homes and businesses that have forced Muslims to seek opportunities elsewhere. Entire Muslim communities have disappeared. Baoro was once home to at least 4,000 Muslims and more than a dozen mosques. Now there are none.

The last Muslims of Boali, where the local Catholic priest sheltered 700 in his church, left for Cameroon. The last Muslims of Yaloke, where more than 10,000 had lived, left for Chad.’

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Jews, Muslims criticise Denmark slaughter ban

Muslims are commanded to sacrifice an animal as a symbol of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son.

One can only wonder if the Danish government is seeking to make life so difficult for Muslims and Jews that many will decide to leave the country.’

Washington, DC - A 10-member delegation of Jews and Muslims told the Danish ambassador to the United States that his country’s ban on ritual slaughter has sullied Denmark’s reputation.

Schneier said he asked the ambassador if he would put up with an edict that said he could only use a Christmas tree purchased in Belgium or France as the environment was more important than his religion.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, led the delegation in protest at the ban, which went into effect at the end of February. The law outlaws the slaughter of any animal that is not stunned first.

This runs contrary to kosher and halal rules.

‘What the ambassador heard loud and clear is how this is impacting the reputation of his country,’ said Schneier, adding that he hopes also to meet with the Danish ambassadors to France and the United Kingdom in the near future.

Denmark

‘We went in there to express our deep concerns and our disdain for the latest legislation coming out of Denmark,’ Schneier said.

He said ambassador Peter TaksoeJensen appeared surprised at the damaging effect this restriction is going to have on Jewish and Muslim communities.

Schneier called the ban on ritual slaughter not only harmful for Jews and Muslims living in Denmark but in nearby countries too, where the law may set a precedent for other governments to adopt the same policy.

The ban came after Denmark’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food issued an edict against ritual slaughter, explaining that animal rights took precedence over religious requirements. Denmark’s stand is that those who want to eat only kosher or halal foods can import meat from Belgium or France.

Sayyid Syeed, national director for the Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances for the Islamic Society of North America, who headed the delegation with Schneier, said in a statement that the ‘ban may make it impossible for Danish Muslims to observe important events in the Muslim calendar, like the annual Eid-al-Adha celebration, when

The ambassador promised to relay the delegation’s feelings to his government.

According to Schneier, there are 8,000 Jews and 220,000 Muslims living in Denmark.

the ruling Socialists.

‘And these Islamophobic divisions permit them to avoid addressing economic and social questions,’ El Hamri said.

Lamenting the anti-Muslim polices in France, El Hamri asked: ‘What will be the next Islamophobic law; the law which bans Muslims from living here?’

‘I’m exaggerating… but it will be another law which tries to make Muslims even more invisible! And we want to be visible. Not to create differences, but because we have to define our dignity and identity,’ he said.

France is home to a Muslim community of nearly six million, the largest in Europe. French Muslims have been complaining of restrictions on practising their religion for many years. In 2004, France banned the wearing of hijab in public places. Several European countries have since followed suit.

France also outlawed the wearing of face veil in public in 2011.

France

French Muslims Protest Islamophobic Laws Marking the tenth anniversary of the ban on hijab in public places in France, hundreds of Muslims and rights activists protested in Paris to demand the abolition of Islamophobic laws and to call for more protection of the religious minority.

‘All political parties contribute to the current climate of Islamophobia, but so does the media,’ Jamel El Hamri, a Muslim activist, told reporters on the sidelines of the protest.

‘They all create a false reality which creates real problems,’ he said.

Campaigners aim to overturn Muslims’ inferior status in France by highlighting rights to freedom of expression and religious practices.

Anti-Muslim laws and policies have the support of a broad range of political groups including the far-right National Front, the conservative UMP and even

Germany

German Weekly Reports Increase in Islamophobia The prominent weekly German news magazine Der Spiegel has noted the extent of Islamophobia’s reach in the country’s political, cultural and social spheres.

In an article published recently it highlighted the success of the Islamophobic German website, ‘Politically Incorrect,’ which gets up to 120,000 visitors daily, and also the foundation of another anti-Muslim political party, ‘Pro-Deutschland’.

“Anti-Islamists generally do not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi‘as, or between militant Islamists and peaceful believers. In their imagination, Islam is not a religion but a political ideology that must be fought. Muslims are accused of trying to take over the world, undermining the sovereignty of

democratic states, infiltrating their legal systems,” said the article.

The article also pointed to attacks on mosques which have increased in recent years and the increasing incidence of neo-Nazis stirring up hatred against Muslims and Islam.

Iran

Iran Launches Islamic Nobel Prize The launch of what has been dubbed the ‘Islamic Nobel Prize’ for science and technology has been held in the Tehran - Pardis Technological Park.

‘The Mustafa Science and Technology Prize’ aims to encourage scholars from Muslim countries and those of the south-eastern Mediterranean to promote their works. The prize intends to create a platform for scientists and specialists to present their latest works and to increase scientific and technological collaboration in the Islamic world.

The prize includes 500,000 dollars, a medal and a certificate to winners in three categories: Life sciences and medicine, nanosciences and nanotechnology, and information and communication technologies. A fourth prize for the Best Muslim Scientist will be assigned later.For the first three categories, the candidates will have to be citizens of a Muslim country, while to compete for the fourth the scientist must simply be a Muslim. There will be 257 universities, academies, research centres and technological institutes conducting the pre-selection, a list of which is available on the www.mustafaprize.org.

The deadline to submit candidatures to these institutes for the first year of the prize is June 2014. The awards ceremony will take place between 4-9 January 2015, and will be flanked by a series of events, including a five-day ‘Islamic Nations Festival of Science and Technology’.

‘Muslim scientists are often underestimated but deserve recognition for their excellent work’, said Mehdi Safarinia, director of Pardis Technological Park..

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), considered to be the largest credit institute in the Islamic world, will be funding the construction and maintenance of a building in Iran as the headquarters of the Mustafa Prize.

During the peak of the medieval Islamic civilisation, known by historians as ‘The Islamic Golden Age’, Iran was one of the most influential Muslim regions, and Persian Muslim scientists, scholars and polymaths succeeded in bringing innovative scientific advancements to the Islamic World in various scientific fields.

Iraq

Nobel Peace Prize Candidate The Daily Telegraph commentator Colin Freeman has written an article naming Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as the most deserving candidate for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Freeman believes that the Ayatollah ‘has done arguably more than anyone to turn the country away from all-out civil war.’

In his nomination paper Freeman writes the following about Ayatollah Sistani: ‘A man who has preached peace between two warring sides. A man who has urged his people never to retaliate, even when provoked by the murders of thousands of their men, women and children. A man who lives quietly and modestly, who seeks neither personal gain nor political office - much less any recognition via a peace prize.’

According to Freeman Ayatollah Sistani has already been nominated once in 2006, by a group of Iraqi Christians.

Freeman described the travails of the Shi‘a community in Iraq as ‘the most

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News appalling provocation’. He writes that most of the car bombs that have gone off in Baghdad over the years have been targeted at Shia neighbourhoods, killing thousands. He adds: “In 2006, al-Qaeda bombed the Shia holy shrine at Samarra, an act roughly the equivalent to destroying St Peter’s Basilica.”

others thanked him for the resistance’s victories and some even posted songs in honour of the event.

In related news, a group of Iraqi MPs have also launched a petition to nominate Grand Ayatollah Sistani for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, the Iraqi daily Azzaman reported.

Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s television station, expressed its discontent over the decision to close the Facebook page.

MP Hassan al-Yasseri was quoted as saying that the main objective behind the move is to show to the world that the Shi‘a school of Islam is fiercely opposed to sectarianism and extremist thoughts and that it seeks peace and dialogue among religious denominations.

Al-Yasseri said the move can highlight the efforts made by the Ayatollah to promote peace and unity between various sects and religions.

LEBANON

Facebook Blocks Pages Supporting Hezbollah Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah recently marked his 52nd birthday, and 7,000 Facebook users joined an event opened on the social network in celebration of his special day.

The Facebook event was organised by several young supporters of Nasrallah.

According to Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, the page was quickly flooded with greetings in honour of the Hezbollah chief’s birthday.

But only several hours after it was launched, the social network removed the event. According to the newspaper, this is not an unusual move as many pages and accounts of Hezbollah supporters have been closed recently.

As-Safir said the page was used to praise Nasrallah and wish him longevity, while

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The Lebanese newspaper further noted that Nasrallah’s name was one of the most mentioned on Facebook, with many false profiles created either by his supporters or opponents.

In related news, the Facebook pages of Ahlul Bayt Islamic Mission (AIM) with over 170,000 users, and Press TV with over one million users, were also flagged up for posting pictures of Nasrallah. Reacting to this censorship, a spokesman for Ahlul Bayt Islamic Mission said: ‘We have enquired with Facebook regarding this matter and have yet to receive any explanation. Unfortunately, social media is an easy place for Zionist and right-wing groups who go around reporting things that displease them and as a result censor free speech on the internet.’

Myanmar

Yangon bans aid group from Rakhine The Myanmar regime has banned ‘Doctors Without Borders’ from the state of Rakhine. The decision has left some 750,000 people without medical care since the end of February. About 150 people, including women with difficult pregnancies, are estimated to have died since the ban was imposed.

Myanmar acted after the group, which has provided medical care in Rakhine State since 1994, reported treating 22 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority for gunshot wounds and other injuries after an attack by a Buddhist mob in January. A United Nations investigation concluded that up to 40 men, women and children were killed in the rampage, which Myanmar denies

took place.

Observers believe kicking ‘Doctors Without Borders’ out of Rakhine State, and depriving hundreds of thousands of people of their only source of medical care, is aimed at preventing foreign witnesses to the human rights violations in the region.

The Rohingya, who have lived in Myanmar for generations, have long been persecuted. In 1982, they were stripped of their citizenship and restrictions were placed on their right to travel within Myanmar or own property.

The government action came as leaked documents revealed severe violations of human rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, including restrictions on the freedom of movement, marriage, childbirth, and other aspects of daily life in northern Rakhine State. The report

by Fortify Rights implicates state and central government officials as perpetrators of the crime against humanity of persecution. Crimes against humanity are among the most serious crimes under international law.

“The impacts of these restrictions are severe and have been well-documented for decades, but the official orders have been kept out of the public domain until now,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “This architecture of abuse contributes to political instability and violence and must be lifted immediately.” The 79-page report, Policies of Persecution: Ending Abusive State Policies Against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, is based primarily on the analysis of 12 leaked official documents and a review of public records, as well as interviews with Rohingya and others in Myanmar and Thailand. The documents published in the report reveal restrictions that deny Rohingya basic human rights, including the rights to nondiscrimination, freedom of movement, marriage, family, health, and privacy. All of the restrictions and enforcement methods described in the report appear to be in effect at the time of writing.

“Regional Order 1/2005,” obtained by Fortify Rights, lays the foundation for a

two-child policy enforced in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, requiring Rohingya “who have permission to marry” to “limit the number of children, in order to control the birth rate so that there is enough food and shelter.”

Encouraged by the government’s abuses, radical Buddhist leaders like Ashin Wirathu have preached hatred against the Muslim minority, and incited more Buddhist mobs to attack Rohingyas since 2011; as many as 75,000 Rohingyas have fled the country and thousands have been driven from their homes. Anti-Rohingya fervour has swelled as Myanmar prepares for its first national census. Rakhine officials fear that if Rohingyas are allowed to acknowledge their ethnicity, an honest accounting will show that there are far more of them than the current estimate of 1.3 million.

UK

British Imam: Islamophobia forced cancellation of Legoland Day An Imam who had planned a day out for Muslim families at Legoland in Windsor has blamed ‘extreme Islamophobia’ for the event being cancelled.

Haitham Al-Haddad said his group privately hired the theme park for a day of ‘halal food and no alcohol’.

But after being inundated with abusive and offensive phone calls, emails and posts on social media, bosses at the amusement park decided to cancel the event.

Mr Al-Haddad chairs the Muslim Research and Development Foundation (MRDF), which had planned the family day at the theme park on 9 March while the resort was still closed to the public.

The far-right English Defence League (EDL) criticised the resort for allowing the theme park to be hired for the event.

Posts on the group’s Facebook page suggested it would hold a demonstra-

tion at Legoland on the day.

Mr Al-Haddad told the British media that the Muslim community had been ‘victimised because of extreme Islamophobic attitudes by some in the UK’.

He added: ‘Imagine all the children and families who just wanted to enjoy a day out, imagine the level of frustration they felt by this. We were also planning to put on some music and entertainment that is part of the Islamic culture. We welcomed everyone to enjoy our halal day of fun and to experience how we as Muslims live.’

The park decided to cancel after discussions with Thames Valley Police. A staff member at Legoland told the press ‘sadly it is our belief that deliberate misinformation fuelled by a small group with a clear agenda was designed expressly to achieve this outcome. We are appalled at what has occurred, and at the fact that the real losers in this are the many families and children who were looking forward to an enjoyable day out. We would like to apologise to them and to the organisers, and to thank them for their understanding.’

usa

Chelsea Clinton’s Film Documents Friendship between Imam and Rabbi

and counter-rallies that serve as a stark reminder of the volatile and painful tensions between Muslim and Jewish communities on many American university campuses.

With 9/11 and the Arab-Israeli conflict as a backdrop, Of Many documents the lives of Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, the Muslim and Jewish Chaplains at New York University, and the development of their interfaith commitment to each other and to the communities they represent.

Latif and Sarna met in 2006 when a student group at NYU planned to display the ‘Danish cartoons.’ In response, Latif and the Muslim Student Association held a planning meeting for a teach-in and Sarna showed up.

After the event, the Muslim students went out into the street for prayer. A few feet to the side of the Muslim community, Sarna began to pray in his own way as a gesture of solidarity. ‘I thought, wouldn’t it be fitting if I was praying near them... or with them?’ Afterwards, several Muslim students came over and told him, ‘We never thought a rabbi could understand us in this way.’

Out of the remarkable collaboration between Latif and Sarna, the Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership at NYU was formed. Mills, who directed Of Many is Vice Chancellor for Global Programs at NYU and Co-Chair, along with Chelsea Clinton, of the Of Many Institute advisory board.

The Tribeca Film Festival has announced that a documentary film produced by Chelsea Clinton will hold its world premiere during the festival at the end of April.

Directed by Linda G. Mills, with Clinton as its Executive Producer, the film Of Many documents the extraordinary friendship between two religious leaders - one Muslim, one Jewish - and the rewards and costs of their uncommon alliance.

The film opens with footage of bombings from the Gaza conflict in 2012, followed by images of college students attending Palestinian and Israeli rallies

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Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colours

By Hena Khan. Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini.

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations - something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.” - Katherine Patterson

F

or three and a half decades now, International Children’s Book Day has been celebrated globally on Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday (2nd April). Activities are held in schools and public libraries and include writing competitions, announcements of book awards and events with authors of children’s literature. The aim of this day is to encourage a love of reading in children.

The day is sponsored by a different national branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) every year. This non-profit organisation is dedicated to bringing children and books together by supporting the production of quality writing and translation of children’s literature and better distribution of books and media. The sponsor for 2014 is Ireland and their chosen theme is: ‘Imagine Nations through Story’.

This year islam today has again chosen a list of Islamic children books as possible reading options for Muslim families.

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(Chronicle Books, 2012).

With breathtaking illustrations and informative text, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns magnificently captures the world of Islam, its beauty and traditions, for even the youngest readers. Red prayer rugs, blue hijabs, orange henna designs each spread celebrates the Islamic arts, whether in the form of exquisite designs on a girl’s hands or the soaring gold minarets of a mosque. This book introduces young readers to elements of Muslim religious practice and cultures in the most natural of ways.

Under the Ramadan Moon

By Sylvia Whitman. Illustrated by Sue Williams.

(Albert Whitman, 2008).

Ramadan is one of the most special months of the Islamic year, when Muslims pray, fast, and help those in need. Sylvia Whitman’s lyrical story, with luminous illustrations by Sue Williams, serves as an introduction to Ramadan, a time for reflection and ritual with family and friends. This is a lovely book with short rhythmical phrases that briefly describe what happens during Ramadan using warm and diverse families of different ethnicities as the characters who engage in Ramadan activities. The art work is vibrant and at the back of the book is a short but very helpful description of Ramadan. This would be an excellent book to read and discuss in a home, school or classroom setting.

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The Conference of the Birds

By Alexis York Lumbard. Illustrated by Demi.

Foreword by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. (Wisdom Tales 2012).

This book is a re-telling of 12th century Sufi epic, Farid al-Din Attar’s ‘Conference of the Birds’, and it succeeds marvellously. The story centres on a Hoopoe who inspires all of the birds of the world to join her in a quest to find the king of birds, Simorgh the Wise. Along the way the birds struggle with all-too-human personality flaws which jeopardise their journey. At each step the wise Hoopoe encourages them to overcome their frailties and then continue with their mission. The ending is both poetic and spiritual.

The illustrations are expertly printed with a gilt-like colour on every page. The artwork is exquisite. Children will be captivated by the sheer variety of bird species depicted within the pages from the more familiar swans, owls, ducks, sparrows and peacocks to less common pheasants, kingfishers, quetzals, toucans and cardinals.

This book is a masterpiece for spiritual seekers of all ages.

Wise Fool of Baghdad

summer. They couldn’t be more wrong. With Grandma Hana’s new neighbour planning to pull down her prized peach tree and a gang, led by archer Bobby, marshalling the local lake, Hude and Amani have a hard time getting any peace.

In this warm and comical story, find out how, under the watchful eyes of Grandma Hana, Hude and Amani plan to save the peach tree and beat Bobby at his own game before leaving Sycamore Street behind.

Ibn Sina: A Concise Life

By Edoardo Albert (Kube Publishing, 2013) Ibn Sina, who is referred to as Avicenna in Latin, was a true polymath. Born in the tenth century his passion for knowledge was unbounded, and he made lasting contributions to medicine, maths and philosophy.

He served under princes and kings (and fled from them too), wrote books of philosophy that are still argued over today and set down medical treatments that continue in use. As such, Ibn Sina is often referred to as the most brilliant Muslim thinker in Islam’s Golden Age. With illustrations, photographs, and maps, the rich and diverse world that produced Ibn Sina is vividly brought alive.

By Mohammed Ali Vakil, Mohammed Arif Vakil

The Muslim All-Stars: Helping The Polonskys

(Sufi studios 2012)

By Khaleel Muhammad

What can a man dressed in rags and ostensibly mad teach us about life? Everything as it turns out. Bahlool who lived in Baghdad, circa the 8th century AD, feigned madness to escape the oppression of the ruling class, and he dispensed wisdom in strange and amusing ways. The Wise Fool of Baghdad is a collection of these true stories, richly illustrated in the Turkish-Iranian miniature style. Every story is followed by sacred verses of the Holy Qur’an and traditions, inscribed in Arabic by Muqtar Ahmed, one of India’s finest Islamic calligraphers. In the crazy times we live in, you will probably need a fool to make sense of it all.

I Wonder About Allah

By Ozkan Oze (The Islamic Foundation, 2013) The ‘I wonder’ series give young readers answers to the BIG questions they have about Islam in brilliant little books. Written in a friendly and accessible style for today’s youth, these are essential companions for questioning young minds.

Have you ever wondered about Allah? Have you ever wanted to ask where Allah lives, or why you can’t see Him? How He managed to create everything and why all of creation obeys Him. These questions, and many more, are explored inside.

The Great Race to Sycamore Street

By J. Samia Mair (Kube Publishing, 2013) This topsy-turvy adventure on Sycamore Street sees brother and sister Hude and Amani arrive in the country with one thought: it was going to be a long, boring

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(The Islamic Foundation, 2012) Mr Polonsky, an angry old man, is desperate for help. His house is a mess and it needs cleaning before his wife returns home from a major operation. As a last resort he puts an advert in a local shop. A group of Muslim children come together to clean up, but with time running out and a bigger mess than they had imagined … can they succeed?

The Lost Ring

By Fawzia Gilani (The Islamic Foundation, 2011) Rahma’s family is preparing for Eid and she has been looking forward to making samosas all week. Grandma, who is visiting, realises that her precious gold ring has gone missing. Suddenly, Rahma remembers wearing it while helping to make the Eid samosas. Will Rahma find her Grandma’s precious ring? This is an engaging mystery that also educates about the festival of Eid-ul-Adha.

Allah The Maker Series

By Fatima D’Oyen / Ayesha Jones / Rizwana Qamaruddin / Raana Bokhari / Amrana Arif (The Islamic Foundation, 1998-2007) Delightful accounts exploring the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, encouraging children to give thanks to the Creator. Five books in the series, each dedicated to one sense and written by a different author, giving every story a unique ‘voice’. Hardback and an excellent set for children aged 0 – 5 years.

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The Shapers

of Tomorrow History shows that youth are the drivers of change and shapers of the future. Ali Jawad argues that Islam places important responsibilities on the shoulders of young people, but Muslim communities remain reluctant to put this into practice

T

ry the following experiment: kick off a discussion with the words ‘the youths of today are…’, then simply sit back to observe how it develops.

Regardless of the gathering, you are almost certain to spark off a fiery debate filled with passionate, partisan and often contradictory opinions.

In the western world, the focal points have largely revolved around identity, the economy as well as social and cultural behaviours. For a large proportion of Muslim families in the west, the challenges of the ‘generation gap’ have been compounded by foreign cultural and social factors. Quite expectedly, this has resulted in a series of clichés and negative stereotypes.

But it would be wrong to assume that the so-called youth crisis is a purely western issue. In fact, according to leading thinkers the main hotspots are largely nonwestern. To this end, a host of global initiatives have sprung up specifically targeting youth with aims such as participation, empowerment etc. Alongside more widely acknowledged global challenges of our time such as climate change, poverty and hunger, Youth Demographics definitely stands out as an odd inclusion. The urgency with which the topic is being discussed at the highest levels of policy-making should make us sit up and pay close attention.

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and alienation from the status quo, combined with greater awareness about the global condition. These are the very same factors that come to the fore when discussing youth in the west.

pendent, and emphasises giving them responsibilities.

Consider the following example: following the conquest of Makka in the eighth year after Hijrah, the Holy Prophet(s) appointed a young twentyIn this regard, it is important to acknowledge that the youths of today are one year old ‘Itab ibn Usaid as the actually the victims of the catastrophic governor of the Holy City. This was disasters that plague our age. Ecologithe most sacred place on earth for cally, the planet is in a precarious situMuslims, and an undoubtedly sensitive ation. Economically, the divide between location, being the former nerve-centre the rich and poor has never been of opposition to the Islamic message. greater. Politically, the powerful have And yet the Holy Prophet(s) entrusted created a discourse that is unabashedly it in the care of a youth who had just hypocritical, underlined by the principle finished his teens. When challenged of ‘might is right’. Culturally, blind mateabout putting such a weighty position rialism and consumerism have reduced in the hands of one who was still so the complexity of human happiness to young, the Messenger of God famously whatever lies within the reach of one’s replied: ‘None of you has the right to object against the young age of ‘Itab ibn Usaid because greatness and excellence do not depend on seniority of For a large proportion of Muslim families in age. Rather the criterion of the west, the challenges of the ‘generation human greatness and excellence is spirituality’. gap’ have been compounded by foreign

‘The popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East during the first few months of 2011 provide a particularly vivid example of the potential consequences of the accelerating political Contrary to popular opinion, cultural and social factors. Quite expectedly, awakening, characterised which deems youths to be this has resulted in a series of clichés and by the convergence of disafaverse to any sort of real fected youth bulges with negative stereotypes. responsibility, Islam actually increasingly accessible mass encourages giving them communication technology. important duties. FurtherThey were driven by resentmore, it also acknowledges ment against corrupt and their important role and contributions. hands. Spiritually, a suffocating narrow unresponsive national leaderships.

Several verses in the Holy Qur’an individualism has played a massive Local frustrations with unemploymention or allude to this, most notably part in creating widespread alienation ment, political disfranchisement, and the story of the Companions of the amongst youth. prolonged periods of “emergency” laws Cave. A famous exhortation by Ja’far provided the immediate motivating The problems that have come to Al-Sadiq(a) in respect of parenting is impulse. Leaders who had been symbolise the perils of modern youth also noteworthy in this regard: “Let your secure in their rule for decades found – from substance abuse, gang-culture, child be free to play until he reaches themselves suddenly confronted by and sexuality to the fundamental breakthe age of seven. For the next seven the political awakening that had been down of family structures – are in fact years, keep a watchful eye on him, and gestating in the Middle East since the merely symptoms of deeper problems finally befriend him for another seven end of the imperial era. The interacthat derive from the dominant ideoyears.” Whereas discipline, education tion between the disenfranchised but logical and cultural choices of modern and self-development are key aspects politically aroused youth populations of society. of the second phase, the final phase the Middle East and the revolution in underlines the aspects of independToday, popular culture equates childcommunication technology is now an ence, responsibility and mutual trust hood with innocence, and the age of important reality of geopolitics in this when dealing with young adults. youth with unruly intransigence. This century.’ (Strategic Vision: America and could not be more distant from the When we pause to reflect on the the Crisis of Global Power, pg. 31-32) Islamic perspective towards youth and behaviour of our communities towards At the heart of the observations about their important role in society. The the youth, we find this spirit to be the nature of the youth crisis, the author Islamic view towards young adults almost entirely missing. Just like their highlights frustration, disengagement acknowledges their need to be indecounterparts in wider society, Muslim

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The Shapers of Tomorrow

During the last decade, the youth issue has taken on alarming significance within the circles of economists and political scientists. This development has arisen from the convergence of three principal factors: demographics, technology and growing economic inequality. Calling it the ‘Youth Bulge’, one of the leading political minds in America, Zbigniew Brzezinski, summarises the dilemma as follows: “In some countries, demographic “youth bulges” - disproportionately large populations of young adults who confront difficulties in their cultural and economic assimilation - are especially explosive when combined with the revolution in communication technology.” Speaking of the recent uprisings in the Muslim world, he offers the following diagnosis:

youths today are increasingly feeling alienated from their local communities. They are often left on the sidelines, whereas they should be the drivers of change. If we fail to remedy this problem, and don’t make a positive turn towards giving greater responsibilities to our youths, then the condition will surely continue to worsen with ever more dire effects.

The problems that have come to symbolise the perils of modern youth …… are in fact merely symptoms of deeper problems that derive from the dominant ideological and cultural choices of modern society.

In order to bring about these changes, community leaders must be willing to listen and show flexibility. Very often, they mistake youthful passion for ‘being difficult’ and consequently feel that including the youth in decision-making structures is counter-productive. In addition, we must not lose sight of the phenomenon of the ‘generation gap’. In my experience, we often expect our youths to have the same tastes and approaches as preceding generations. We should remember that our faith provides for broad diversity, culturally or otherwise, as long as expressions stay within the confines of Islamic teachings and principles. In the famous words of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib(a): ‘Do not force your children to behave like you, for surely they have been created for a time which is different to your time.’

The core message of Islam in respect of the youth is a beacon of hope, at a time in which the predominant discourse is bleak and despondent. Today, the opportunities afforded to youth have provided an opening into truly revolutionary changes on the global scene. Across continents and cultures, youth are making exciting progress and tearing apart artificial barriers of division. Indeed, some of the most iconic changes that have shaped our present are the products of innovations made by the youth.

History has shown that the youth are the drivers of change and shapers of the future. In a recent address to the youth, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Sayyid Ali Khamenei observed: “What I want to say is that we should believe in youth as an engine for initiating political developments. When I said this, the gentlemen who claim they play an important role in improving universities criticised me for tempting and encouraging youth. This is not the case. I believe in this idea. In any society, the young generation - particularly young students - is the engine of any social and political development.”

As Muslim communities, we must ensure that our youths are strongly encouraged to participate actively in the important, defining issues that affect us today. Enlightened stewardship involves providing the right guidance, without stifling their intrinsic creativity and innovation. Whilst it may be true that the slogan ‘our youths are our future’ has become a worn-out cliché that is repeated by all and sundry, there can be no denying that the demands of our faith gives it special importance. •

Ali Jawad is a human rights activist and political analyst with a keen interest in international diplomacy.

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How to help the

downhearted

Helping people with low self-esteem, and who are pessimistic and sad might be testing for us, but at the same time it is a proof of our humanity, courage and friendship says Sabnum Dharamsi

A

friend calls you and says – “I’m feeling a bit low. Are you around?” We’ve all been in this situation - when you get a cry for help and you know that what is being asked for is something subtle and intangible. At times like this, it’s hard to know exactly what to do. Should you ask what the matter is…or tactfully draw a curtain around the situation? Should you drop everything and go round? What about when nothing you do seems to have any impact? How serious is it and could you end up making things worse?

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Sort yourself out first To help someone effectively you need to be responsive, not reactive. What this means is that it’s easy to miscommunicate if you are not in good shape yourself, especially if you’ve been in this situation a few times. Recognise when you’re feeling tired, vulnerable, and angry or stretched, as it’s likely that when you’re not in a balanced state, your intentions will be cloudy, you’ll give mixed signals, and the help you give will be unsustainable.

Accept the existence of suffering

from relaxation exercises to prayer to bungee jumping! Also don’t be shy of asking for help. Sometimes it’s hard to work out just how serious it is: is the other person just down or are they clinically depressed. If you are not sure, it’s important to get some professional advice. It is also important – and I can’t stress this enough - that even if the person you are helping doesn’t want help other than from you, don’t try to soldier on by yourself. It’s easy to underestimate how coping with someone’s distress can debilitate you.

Do not judge

Learn to listen

When people are vulnerable, it’s surprisingly easy to form negative judgments about them. One of the main reasons for this is that vulnerability in others can trigger powerful – and difficult - emotions within you. When someone, significant to us, is feeling unhappy, we are disturbed ourselves. Their feelings impact on ours. When a baby cries it can set off others, we’re the same. Because these feelings are beneath the surface, we sometimes protect ourselves from the pain they bring by criticising and judging the person who is vulnerable. We justify to ourselves why we cannot be involved. Often this is by blaming the person. We might blame them for not taking advice and keep repeating the same mistakes. The person in the centre of this often feels judged whether this is in the form of overt criticism or feelings of failure for not having “made it”. Do not tell them ‘Do not worry you’ll be fine’, ‘you will get over it’ as this may be seen as judging and not listening.

It’s really hard to listen to someone in pain, even though it’s natural. Usually we try to convince people of our opinion before we even hear them out. And that usually makes the person even more restless. In this case although we do our best to help them, they reject every suggestion we make, as if they feel we’ve not heard or understood them.

A more subtle issue that is often raised when engaging with someone who is sad is that it can challenge your ideas about happiness. The frustration and powerlessness of that person not changing their mindset can impact on yours. We tend to react to statements like these not just because of the pain we hear but also the implicit criticism of our world that their pain implies.

For example, if someone you know has failed their exams, rather than giving them advice or even telling them what you would feel in their situation, try to see it through their eyes. Rather than trying to make it better, step into their world and see if they are being brave, if they feel it is the end of their world or if they feel hopeful or relieved.

It’s important to be aware of our own triggers, so we can respond with compassion rather than react with judgments.

In a society in which the go-getter is heroised, suffering is often viewed as an obstacle or even a sign of failure. Yet suffering is part of life, and though not many people enjoy pain, we know as Muslims we were not created for ease. Indeed, God tells us “And We will surely test you with fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and the produce of your labour, but give good tidings to the patient” (Qur’an 2:155).

In order for those good tidings to be genuine, not only do we need to accept our own pain as part of what we are here to experience, we need to understand and exercise compassion for others in pain. Life’s meaning comes from seemingly impossible situations, so it’s not about trying to make the suffering go away.

This is an aspect of what it means to have empathy - to step outside of our frame of reference and feel how someone else experiences the world. Empathy is an almost uniquely human ability to leap with imagination and heart to understand someone else. It’s hard and it’s beautiful because to be empathetic requires one to submit to the truth that we are all one, created from a single self (nafsun wahida) and that someone else’s pain can be our own.

How to be responsive Have you ever listened to someone’s story and found yourself crying, unable to hear the extent of it? Therapists use the term resilience to convey the importance of being able to “hold” others’ pain: to be unafraid of intense pain or prolonged suffering and be able to connect with that person without being overwhelmed ourselves. Not being overwhelmed is easier said than done. Yet it’s important not to run away or become so emotionally overwrought that you are damaged, and the person becomes concerned for you, guilty for having burdened you and feel even more out of control or hopeless.

So how do you protect yourself? The most important resource you have is to know that it is not down to you, but to know deeply and reflect frequently that God is the source of all protection and that He is in charge. Rather than preaching to someone, it is important to shore up your own faith with the cloak of that Divine Protection, in whichever way seems most effective for you. Taking care of yourself is not a crime.

It’s even important to switch off and say no sometimes. Again, the way you replenish your energy depends on time and temperament – there are many methods ranging

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How to help Rather than imposing our help, we have to ask what they need and how we can be of service. Make your input regular and structured (pace yourself) – do not engulf yourself, nor give the feeling that if you are not there you are rejecting them.

Encourage them to seek help and make them recognise that there is no failure in doing so. Let them know you care – but be genuine.

Helping is often about being there, without defences, guilt or ego. Just humility, knowing we are all the same. We take the first step and God will help us on the way.

“As for him who gives and is God-wary, and confirms the best promise. We shall surely ease him into facility. But as for him who is stingy and self-complacent, and denies the best promise. We shall surely ease him into hardship”. (92:5-10). •

Sabnum Dharamsi is a therapist and co-founder of Islamic Counselling Training. www.islamiccounselling.info

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Art Editor Moriam Grillo

Artistic Intifada: Remembering Palestine This month sees a feature on Palestinian artivists. Artivist is a neologism that describes a growing group of people who use art as a vehicle for nonviolent resistance, global awareness and social change. These pages will explore the means they have used to convey the message of the Palestinian struggle, in

the hope that their common experience will be known and never forgotten.

Palestinians have lived under Israeli occupation and apartheid for more than six decades. Western narratives often displace their experience through a form of cultural amnesia that under-

plays the humanity of their plight. As if born of hatred, rather than shaped by a life of displacement, discrimination, poverty and oppression, the Palestinian experience has been met by global ambivalence.

Despite this, the majority of Palestinians have adopted nonviolent strategies of resistance in their continuing struggle for equality and justice.

These Palestinian artivists are using their craft to raise public awareness by creating an arena in which they define themselves and the true degree of their struggle, bringing to public consciousness issues that would ordinarily remain absent from everyday discourse.

In the spotlight Mohamed Al-Zammar

for justice, creatively.

By collecting shrapnel from Israeli rockets and missiles launched at the Gaza Strip, he has turned weapons of war into beautiful pieces of art; A reversal of fortune, or making good of the bad which has been done.

‘In Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, art is different. As art mirrors the people’s life, my art mirrors our life. It mirrors our sufferings, the siege and being refugees,’ - Mohamed Al-Zammar Mohamed Al-Zammar is a Palestinian visual artist whose work was recently displayed in an exhibition called ‘ChicArt-Resistance. His work, which turns deadly Israeli shrapnel into symbols of life, is a stark reminder of the tyranny Palestinians are forced to live under. Not many of us can relate to living under siege, in an environment where lives are lost in swift repetition. Al-Zammar has made a name for himself by standing

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Al-Zammar lives in one of Gaza’s many crowded refugee camps, a far cry from the vast lands Gaza’s inhabitants fled from in 1948, which were punctuated with olive trees. It is a memorable vision that many Palestinians want to see reinstated, while others despair and fondly remember a time they believe will never return. Through his work, Al-Zammar would like to communicate a message of life. Although at first hand it may seem contradictory, he chooses to use symbols of death and materials collected from the killing and wounding of Palestinians, to represent what he sees as the eternal truth of his

people. Using shrapnel that has killed and wounded many Palestinians, Al Zammar retaliates with peace Similar to many other projects in the West Bank, Al-Zammar’s art is the vehicle for a narrative of persecution and struggle. It would be too easy to feel satisfied with simply conveying that, but this new wave of expression rises above the emblems of oppression and sets its own precedent as to how this shared experience will be viewed by the world at large.

Al-Zammar has managed to shed light and beauty on something which is brutal and dark. By painting ‘hope’ on objects used as vehicles of destruction, he punctuates the message of hate with a proposition of peace.

Walking in the footsteps of others who have known oppression throughout history, Al-Zammar et al use art to respond to their perpetrators with humanity and candour. They employ action and not reaction, in order to maintain integrity and not lose what is truly necessary to survive: Honour, hope and conviction.

‘I want to make life out of death and destruction. I want to tell the world that we are a nation who appreciates life and beauty.’ - Mohamed Al-Zammar

Masterpiece Samia Halaby Painting

Born in Jerusalem in 1936, Samia Halaby is considered one of the Arab world’s leading artists.

She is equally known as a political campaigner for Palestine and as a practitioner of Palestinian art. Her paintings are of an abstract nature with a contemporary dimension. Halaby uses a colour palette which resembles a genteel and effeminate quality filled with energy of movement and a dynamism which often appears to be exploding or imploding depending on perspective. I wonder if this is a ruse Halaby has created to mirror feelings or the emotions connected to occupation. Her use of abstraction as a metaphor averts the notion of reactive hostility towards the enemy. Through peaceful persuasion Halaby reflects her outward vocal protests with her internal pondering. These take the form of creative outpourings on canvas, which she considers to be impersonal and political. Halaby believes that meaning is defined by the beholder, it being unnecessary to know what has inspired a piece. An artist of intellect and heart, Halaby is known to use form as an experiential trigger, placing power in the eye of the beholder on his journey toward recognition.

Halaby considers abstract painting to be an important tool for social and artistic communication between the artist and the audience. It is a portal which forges hearts by way of reaching out across countries and cultures.

“Abstraction is not about the artist or his or her individualism, but rather about the far more difficult and thus more satisfying ambition to invent a

visual language capable of containing exchangeable knowledge. Of course, the uniqueness of painting is that this shared knowledge is a visual one.”

- Halaby Halaby is renowned for devising new visual languages, much of her work being influenced by her earlier career in computer programming.

An exhibition of Halaby’s work will be on show at the Ayyam Gallery Dubai until April 29.

This is the first major retrospective of Halaby’s work and features over 50 pieces that reflect Halaby’s changing style throughout her career.

Five decades of painting and innovation is a unique opportunity to witness the breakthroughs that Halaby has made along her creative journey.

Nabil Anani

Born in Latroun, Palestine in 1943, Nabil studied Fine Art at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem.

perseverance. Each of his paintings has a series of trees in them, whether taking centre stage or in the fore or background. Anani’s use of this evergreen is both skilful and imaginative.

He paints multiple fronds of verdant green interspersed along the landscape, giving rise to notions of hope and plenty. His message is received with open arms. Anani is consistent with his use of greens and reds, forging a nationalistic link between his people and their homeland. Anani’s work is both controversial and conventional if that is possible, and his piece ‘Stop the Wall’ proves this well. His painting entitled ‘Bride of Jerusalem’ depicts a young bride dressed in white, seated within an olive grove, which upon closer inspection forms a crowd of people.

Anani has participated in numerous group exhibitions and received a number of awards in recognition of the calibre of his work. He has held solo exhibitions in Palestine, Cairo and London.

Anani is known as one of the most prominent Palestinian artists in the world today. His artistic practice comprises of painting, ceramics and sculpture. But it is his paintings in particular which have caught my eye.

They pay homage to a heritage which relies on craftsmen like himself to keep depictions of cultural and social history from fading from public consciousness.

Anani’s work centres on the olive tree as a metaphorical component of Palestine’s identity. To Anani the destruction of the olive tree by Israeli forces is a stark reflection of the plight of those forced to live under occupation. Anani uses the olive tree symbolically, to convey a message of hope, peace and

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Addendum

Heritage Although i have featured him before, it seemed opportune to recall the talents of Sliman Mansour and acknowledge his status as the founding father of art based on the Nakba.

An art exhibition called “Chic-ArtResistance” went on show across the West Bank last December. The touring exhibition was aimed at expressing a counter narrative to the daily experience of occupation.

In 1988 he produced four paintings of Palestinian villages that been destroyed, Yibna, Yalo, Imwas and Bayt Dajan. This painting depicts an artistic representation of Islamic geographic heritage for posterity.

Photography Sami Musa and Mohammed Khatib

Palestinian activists Sami Musa and Mohammed Khatib use their artistic practice to transform the tools of oppressive Israeli occupation into works of art that communicate the beauty and fragility of life. Their work is a non-violent response to the plight of their people and homeland, an articulate resistance immersed in love, dignity and hope.

The pair have produced pieces of art made from an array of combatant paraphernalia. Using items such as tear gas canisters and barbed wire, they have composed a soliloquy of perseverance.

Their work commands respect and is a timely reminder of the Prophetic way.

“We came up with these art pieces which express our daily suffering. We have turned tools of murder used by the Israeli occupation against us into tools granting hope in life, liberation and independence. We hope that this art stimulates all people to get engaged in popular resistance.” - Mohammed Khatib Khatib is the coordinator of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee which is a grassroots Palestinian initiative involved in non-violent resistance in the occupied Palestinian territories, and Musa is a Brazilian-Palestinian artist.

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Featuring Mohammad Al-Zammar, Sami Musa and Mohammad Khatib, the exhibition started in Ramallah at the Mahmoud Darwish Museum on December 9. It lasted two weeks before ending at the Bethlehem Peace Centre. •

Performance Art “Inspired by the nascent sport of Parkour, Gaza Parkour Team began to observe the urban fabric of Gaza as a playground through which they could move fluidly, using their bodies instead of weapons and explosives - to overcome boundaries and barriers.”

- Author, Eyal Weizman Parkour is an international sporting activity based on moving rapidly through an area. The space in question is usually urban and the object is to move swiftly with an air of poetry and grace.

As a non-violent political response to Israeli Defense Forces, these young performance artists used their bodies to react with the environment, exerting their energies to reduce angst and rise above the strictures of everyday life.

“For Palestinians art and art education is a matter of cultural preservation and survival.” - Nat Muller, independent curator and critic.

The Gaza Parkour Team was founded

by Abdullah Anshasi and Mohammad Aljkhabyr in 2005. For a young resident of Gaza, Parkour represents a physically challenging activity which pushes the boundaries of safety. Parkour is a sport which challenges ones sense of security, flirting with life and death, whilst pushing adrenalin levels to new heights.

It is a response to life under siege, a creative reflection of life on the edge of existence.

The team regularly post their exploits on social media as a way of staying connected with the world at large whilst using it as a platform for social change.

Many Palestinians live in substandard conditions and under the tyranny of occupied rule, and Parkour is used as a way of breaking free from such constraints by overlaying it with the pursuit of expansion.

Moriam Grillo is an international artist. She holds Bachelor degrees in Photography, Film and Ceramics. She is also a freelance broadcaster, photographer and writer.

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Film review

THE

MONUMENTS

War destroys cities and people’s lives. However if you live in a cultural city you might be spared. Jalal Parsa reviews the new George Clooney and Grant Heslov film, The Monuments Men

O

ne lesson that you can learn from George Clooney’s latest film The Monuments Men is the sheer primacy of cultural heritage over human life. It means you

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are extremely lucky if you live in a city recognised by the enemy as a cultural heritage site. Neither Hitler nor allied forces in WII did harm Paris. (It tells us a lot about London, Dresden and

Baghdad). Kyoto was also spared from elimination only because its historical and cultural values were recognised by an American general. Kyoto was initially selected over Hiroshima to be the first

target of the atomic bomb. According to the atomic bomb ‘Target Committee’ consisting of American generals and scientists like Robert Oppenheimer and John von Neumann, Kyoto was chosen because: ‘this target is an urban industrial area with a population of 1,000,000. It is the former capital of Japan and many people and industries are now being moved there as other areas are being destroyed. From the psychological point of view there is the advantage that Kyoto is an intellectual

centre for Japan and the people there are more apt to appreciate the significance of such a weapon as the gadget (Classified as an AA Target)’.

But Kyoto ended up being spared because apparently Henry L. Stimson, the United States Secretary of War during WWII had seen the city before and had admired its historical value.

As spoken by George Clooney’s character Lt. Frank Stokes: ‘if you destroy an entire generation of people’s

culture, it’s as if they never existed.’

In other words, there is no replacement for original works of art and monuments, but people can grow back. That is why neither the Americans nor Hitler destroyed works of art. Hitler’s plan was actually to save them, but in his Führermuseum.

The Nazis would incinerate people with no remorse and at the same time protect their cultural belongings. This was the case for Jews who were slaughtered but their paintings and artefacts preserved.

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(2001) picks up his ‘men’. The scene, unlike Ocean’s Eleven, is not successful, not least because it does not provide the audience with sufficient information and background about the characters.

These scenes did not happen in the real story according to Robert Edsel’s book, on which the screenplay is based. Frank Stokes is loosely based on George L. Stout with traces of the other real character Paul Sachs. As a reservist in the US Navy, Stout never met President Roosevelt. He wrote a letter to the President but never received a response. He was later summoned to the Navy and sent to the front. Stout stayed there until he received a letter from Paul Sachs telling him that ‘The President has appointed an American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in Europe.’

aesthetic innocence to the intentions of The film starts with Frank Stokes the US Army from the very beginning.

(George Clooney) giving a lecture with Later George Clooney’s character, in a slide presentation on the history of manner copied from Ocean’s Eleven European art to President Roosevelt (PowerPoint had not yet been invented).

The scene, which is placed in an ……there is no replacement for original auditorium and with Lieutenant Frank works of art and monuments, but people can Stokes behind the grow back. That is why neither Americans podium, gives an nor Hitler destroyed works of art aura of academic disinterest and

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The Monuments Men finally find the hiding place of the looted artefacts hidden down abandoned mines in Germany. The information came from an unlikely heroine; Claire Simone (based on Rose Valland) who is described in the book as ‘unassuming woman with forgettable bland style and manner’. Claire (played by Cate Blanchett), who is imprisoned after the liberation of Paris under charges of collaborating has a secret notebook with all the details of the looted arts that she cherishes dearly. The information is finally disclosed thanks to Matt Damon’s American charms and Claire Simone’s French coquettishness in a dull romantic scene in which Matt Damon’s abstinence is designed perhaps to please the Protestant morals of the American middle class: ‘Je ne peux pas’ he says in his response.

Towards the end Clooney and Heslov bring their Russian counterpart, ‘the trophy brigades’ to create a chase scene, a lame attempt to add some thrills and a sense of triumph. The Russians get nothing but an American flag hoisted on top of the abandoned mine, a sign to show that Americans were here first and they saved the precious Madonna and Ghent Altarpiece (by Jan van Eyck). The film is

clearly made to satisfy the American middle class and their Puritanical belief in God’s plan for them and their mission on Earth. ‘Monuments’ in this film are mostly Christian icons, you may notice.

In fact, American exceptionalism is written all over the film. Smart, civilised and hard-working Americans against evil Germans, lazy French, boring Brits and pigheaded Russians.

The roots of American exceptionalism can be traced back to the founding of New England by extremist Protestants in the seventeenth century. The Protestant Reformation restored the Old Testament, and by that the narrative of the ‘Promised Land’ and the ‘chosen people’. This form of Protestantism in New England gave legitimacy to the American settlers to conquer the continent, justified on Biblical terms. In

their constant struggle to conquer new territories and push back the native population, they developed something that is called the ‘American frontier myth’. Based on this myth, the American psyche finds itself in a constant struggle over frontiers, with the forces of nature and the ‘savages’. The struggle against savages was seen as the struggle to defend ‘civilisation’. The concepts of ‘savage war’ and ‘frontier myth’ have been the most dominant themes in Hollywood movies from its beginning.

The Monuments Men (2013), Directed by George Clooney, Produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, Screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov , 118 minutes.

Based on: The Monuments Men, by Robert M. Edsel, Arrow Books, London, 2010, 473 pages, £7.99

From The Birth of a Nation (1915) until the present day, the main theme is often the struggle of the civilised ‘chosen people’ to save civilisation, which always means Christianity, now more often called Western or European civilisation. In keeping with this tradition, The Monuments Men, like Clooney and Heslov’s previous film Argo, is a bland, unsophisticated propaganda piece with no attempt to conceal its ….American exceptionalism is written all over political intenthe film. Smart, civilised and hard-working tions. •

Americans against evil Germans, lazy French, boring Brits and pigheaded Russians

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; t n e l m a e v g i a v g r n u E s r o f y g e t st ra er slaught l a l a H on of striction anifestations e r t n e c blic m he re li sees t ack on the pu e e l a h er K r att Alexand as yet anothe e in Europ he continent nt Islam o

I

n February 2014, after years of lobbying by hard-line animal rights groups, the Danish government passed a controversial law outlawing the Halal and Kosher slaughter of animals without stunning. While European regulations normally require that all animals be stunned prior to slaughter, exemptions have been historically made on religious grounds. Defending his government’s decision to remove this exemption, the Danish minister for agriculture and food Dan Jorgensen told Denmark’s TV2 that “animal rights come before religion”.

It must be noted that Jorgensen, who once served as president of the Animal Welfare Intergroup, which lobbies on animal welfare and conservation issues, passed this law without seeking approval in the Danish parliament. But such a drastic move seems rather strange considering that no animal has been slaughtered without stunning in Denmark for the last decade (with Jews and Muslims importing meat slaughtered elsewhere). Why has Jorgensen chosen to champion animal rights by targeting religious minorities, while far more egregious violations of animal welfare are taking place on his watch?

Since animal rights come before religion, what about culture? The Danish government has done nothing to try and curb the cruel practice of whale hunting in the Faroe Islands (a semi-autonomous Danish territory). Every summer, the islanders

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of the Muslim headscarf and Jewish skullcap and large crucifixes in schools and by state employees. A similar ban exists in eight of German’s sixteen states, in which teachers are forbidden from wearing headscarves, despite the fact that some of these states allow Catholic nuns to teach in their full habits. This legislation reached a new extreme in 2010, when France made it illegal to wear the full face-veil in public, followed by similar laws in Belgium (2010) and the Netherlands (2012).

These bans were the subject of national debate, despite the fact that a very small number of women actually wear a face-covering for religious reasons. One of the justifications offered for these bans (besides preserving France’s rather extreme notion of secularism) is that Muslim women and girls are “coerced” into wearing these garments and therefore they must be “saved” in the name of women’s rights.

force the whales into shallow water before driving hooks into their blow-holes, dragging them ashore, partially severing their heads and leaving them to die before butchering them. The Faroe Islanders claim that these hunts – which are not internationally regulated and open to all to participate in – are part of their heritage, but according to conservationists, they are cruel and unnecessary; why does the Danish government not outlaw this barbaric practice if it believes animals should not suffer?

It seems that the Danish government also holds Darwin in higher esteem than animal welfare; in what can only be described as a poignant (if unintended) irony, the week before the law against religious slaughter was passed, a Danish zoo put down a healthy male giraffe – called ‘Marius’ – and fed him to lions because they were worried about their gene pool stagnating. This was despite the fact that other zoos in Britain and Sweden had offered to give Marius a home other than the inside of a lion’s belly. Marius’ fate is not an altogether uncommon one; another giraffe at the same zoo is already facing a similarly grisly end; every year, across Europe, more than 5000 otherwise healthy zoo animals – including hundreds of large ones like Marius – are put down for the same reason. What is truly shocking, however, is that the culling of a giraffe attracted such an international outpouring of scorn (including eleventh-hour pleas for him to be spared!), but a law targeting two of Denmark’s religious minorities passed with barely a murmur.

Profit also appears to trump animal rights in Denmark, whose pig farming industry is a truly monstrous enterprise. The same Danish agriculture minister, Dan Jorgensen, has admitted that on average, 25,000 piglets die each day in his country’s factory farms, half of the sows have open sores and 95% have their tails docked, a practice outlawed under EU regulations. Apparently this is allowed to continue because it saves Danish farmers money, and they in turn support the Danish economy. If the Danish government is truly concerned for the welfare of animals, then why has it passed a law prohibiting a kind of slaughter no one is practising within its jurisdiction, but is doing nothing to address the plight of 25,000 piglets dying each day from the horrific conditions in which they are kept?

Slaughter without stunning does not mean that the animal will suffer. Temple Grandin, an American expert on animal welfare and slaughter at the Colorado State University, told me: ‘Slaughter without stunning can be done with an acceptable level of animal welfare but it requires more attention to details of procedure than slaughter with stunning.’ Elsewhere, she has written: ‘The animal is slaughtered, without being stunned, with a razor sharp knife. When the cut is done correctly, the animal appears not to feel it.’ So the issue here is not one of legislation but of regulation; animals can be slaughtered without stunning and without causing them unnecessary distress, and at the same time Jews and Muslims can freely practise their respective faiths.

Denmark is not the only country to have prohibited religious slaughter; the Netherlands debated a similar law in 2011 and Poland actually banned Halal slaughter in 2012. In the aftermath of the Danish ban, the head of the British Veterinary Association began calling for a similar ban in Britain on animal welfare grounds.

As well as dress, restrictions are imposed on Muslim places of worship, despite the fact that being able to freely establish such places is a basic human right. In Catalonia, Spain, Muslim congregations are forced to pray in outdoor spaces because their existing prayer facilities are too small and the local government refuses to grant them permission to expand them or establish new ones. Why? Because mosques – they say – are incompatible with the respect of Catalan traditions and culture. And in 2010 Switzerland passed a law specifically targeting Muslims by prohibiting the construction of minarets, effectively enshrining Islamophobia in law.

These restrictions on religious freedom deliberately target some of the most visible manifestations of Islam in European society; those around which it is easy to whip up negative public opinion while maintaining a liberal façade.

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In other words, issues such as restrictions on dress, diet and places of worship act as proxies; Islam and Muslims cannot be attacked directly, even in the minds of those behind these policies, because that would show them to be common racists.

So instead, these proxies are symbols used to “stand-in” for Islam, which can be attacked for ostensibly enlightened motives. The effect they have, however, is to normalise Islamophobic rhetoric and attitudes and enshrine these within a legal framework, paving the way for further invasions of the religious and personal sphere of people’s lives. Even as this article was being finalised, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, called for legislation to allow Muslim children to be taken into care if they were deemed “at risk” of being radicalised – would such a suggestion even be entertained if it were not for more than a decade of “liberal” and “enlightened” demonisation by politicians and the media?

If we are to halt this normalisation of Islamophobia through legislation, it is essential that we be actively engaged in politics and activism on both a local and national level, and work to build positive relationships with other groups in society (such as the Jewish community) affected by these illiberal laws in order to effectively challenge them. We are at a crucial point in the history of Islam in Europe and we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand, believing that we can ignore these discriminatory laws because they do not affect us; because if we want to wait for laws which actually do discriminate against us before taking action, it will already be too late. •

Denmark is not the only country to have prohibited religious slaughter; the Netherlands debated a similar law in 2011 and Poland actually banned Halal slaughter in 2012. In the aftermath of the Danish ban, the head of the British Veterinary Association began calling for a similar ban in Britain on animal welfare grounds.

As this article was being prepared, Halal and Kosher slaughter became a subject of national debate. But these attacks on ritual slaughter are not isolated incidents; the fact is that the Danish ban represents the latest continuation of a worrying trend in Europe, whereby religious minorities (particularly Jews and Muslims) are the target of laws and policies that make it more difficult to publicly manifest their beliefs, but which are ostensibly motivated by liberal values.

For example, Muslims have been prevented by law from observing their religious dress-code in a number of countries, including Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, especially in schools and other state institutions. This began in 2004 when, in the spirit of laïcité, the French government banned the wearing

It is sheer naivety to believe – as some do – that because we don’t wear a faceveil or eat un-stunned meat, we don’t need to defend the rights of those that do.

These restrictions on religious freedom deliberately target some of the most visible manifestations of Islam in European society; those around which it is easy to whip up negative public opinion while maintaining a liberal façade. In fact, they serve a rather paradoxical dual purpose: they allow politicians and governments to show they have a tough stance against Islam, and at the same time make a visible gesture of commitment to liberal values.

Alexander Khaleeli is a researcher and student in the Hawza ‘Ilmiyyah of Qum. He earned his BA and MA at the Islamic College in London.

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Feature

Animal rights

and the legitimate boundaries of human manipulation To what extent are humans allowed to make use of animals?

Tahereh Shafiee examines the Islamic directives and limitations

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he widespread and expensive use of animals in medical and non-medical research is a well-known phenomenon.

Even though some modern scientific methods could be tested on humans, research on animals is still the preferred method. From a historical point of view there is no doubt that research undertaken by scientists using animals such as that carried out by Louis Pasteur, who was able to immunise animals affected by contagious diseases, has produced invaluable knowledge.

Why do we need to experiment on animals?

A typical justification provided by those who conduct experiments on animals is that it is preferable for scientific

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reasons. However most would claim their decision is dictated by financial and ethical considerations for human life.

Some scientists support the idea that small laboratory rodents such as mice, rats and hamsters are the species of choice because of their small size and rapid reproductive cycle and continue to justify use of these animals on the grounds of necessity. This implies that if we really want to change this reality we would need a paradigm shift in the way we perceive animals. This can start at a lexical level by using words that reduce the differences between human and ‘non-human animals’. After all since antiquity man has been considered a ‘thinking animal’.

There is no denying that clinical procedures using laboratory animals have made significant contributions to biomedical research as well as to the safety and effective evaluation of chemical products of various kinds.

But are there any alternatives we could consider?

Considering the cost involved in the use of animals in biomedical laboratories, it is surprising that research institutions have not looked elsewhere. There is a clear analogy with what has happened in the agricultural world where companies like Monsanto dictate to farmers which products they should use. There is evidence to show the influence on scientists of dominant companies that breed and supply animals for labora-

tory experimentation such as the Scott Marshall Farms Group. These companies have a vested interest in preventing any alternative forms of testing being developed, such as testing on in-vitro microorganisms, and cellular cultures that could be produced in the future.

Is there any change in sight?

Today, according to the regulatory frameworks, governing animals’ living environment, nutrition, and hygiene, researchers are ethically and legally obliged and accountable for the rights of animals under their observation.

The first prerequisite when experimenting using laboratory animals is to observe the rules of breeding, keeping and treating animals correctly.

Legislation enacted during the 1980s in many countries and regions in line with concepts put forward by W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch in1959 requires that laboratories work towards implementing the use of three concepts: yy Reduction alternatives as methods for obtaining comparable levels of information from the use of fewer animals in scientific procedures, or for obtaining more information from the same number of animals. yy Refinement alternatives as methods which alleviate or minimise potential pain, suffering and distress, which enhance animal’s well-being. yy Replacement alternatives as methods which permit to achieve the same

purpose without conducting experiments or other scientific procedures on animals (Smyth, 1978).

In this regard researchers are prohibited from using methods which are considered painful or disturbing for animals, and numerous committees such as UAWC (University Animal Welfare Committees), LEACC (Life and Environmental Animal Care Committee) supervise any research on animals at different universities.

Islamic directives on ‘animal rights’

Islam has comprehensive guidelines governing animal rights. These laws revealed more than 1400 years ago - are uniquely detailed.

A look of the Qur’an and related

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narrations on this topic sheds light on the legitimate boundaries of human manipulation of animals according to Islamic laws.

“There is no animal on land, nor a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like you. We have not omitted anything from the Book. Then they will be mustered toward their Lord.

(6:38) “There are [manifest] signs [of truth] in the creation of [humanity and numerous types of] animals scattered [on the earth] for those who believe [in God]” (45:4).

These Quranic verses’ state that animals are natural signs of God’s Might and live in their own specific societies according to divine rules. Like humans, animals have their own individual and social make-up and always act to survive and protect themselves and their offspring from extinction.

Building societies is not simply an instinctive and deterministic aspect of animals’ lives in the same way as nutrition, growth, and reproduction, but has another goal outside their earthly existence. God says, “we have not created the earth and sky and whatever among

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them for fun, but because of justice [wisdom and necessity]; however most of them are not aware of it” (44:38-39).

These two Quranic verses clarify the point that all parts of the universe have their own purposes and nothing is created in vain.

Several Quranic verses invite humans to learn from animals, birds, ants, and honey bees. Believers learn from studying animals as Divine Signs which in addition to opening up new horizons of knowledge and science allows them to deepen their faith.

“Do they see how [useful] a camel is created?” (88:17).

The legitimate boundaries

Islam stipulates restrictions on exploiting animal life in all areas. Some of these restrictions are as follows: yy Restrictions on collecting honey.

According to Islam, the amount of honey left in a honeycomb should be enough to feed honey bees and in winter it is praiseworthy to leave more than sufficient honey to feed the bees of a honeycomb. yy Restrictions on riding and carrying loads, as quoted from the Holy

Prophet Muhammad(s): “there is no beast of burden that does not pray to God every morning so that the Lord may bestow it an owner who would give it enough forage and water and would not overload it”. Also, Abu Hurairah quoted the Prophet as saying: “Ride animals as much as is necessary for your needs and do not use animals as your sedan chairs.” Ali ibn Abi Talib(a) instructs his agents: “do not ride an animal more than it can no longer bear your load, and be fair to animals…If an animal is exhausted, it must take some rest.” yy Prohibition on verbal abuse and beating. There are numerous traditions forbidding insulting and beating animals, particularly hitting them in their faces. Moreover, Islam prohibits slaughtering animals in view of other animals. yy Instructions on hunting. Hunting of wild animals and birds should be avoided as much as possible especially at night, possibly because the darkness militates against identifying quarry and despatching it swiftly, and maybe because hunting in the dark could be dangerous for the hunter himself. Hunting devices are also

recommended to be sharp so as to minimise pain. From an Islamic viewpoint, hunting as a hobby is forbidden and deemed a great sin, and anyone who kills for fun has committed a sin. yy Prohibition on separating baby animals from their mothers. Islam forbids hunting chicks before they have flown the nest, or separating young animals from their mothers. yy Prohibition on sports. Although Islam encourages sports such as horse and camel riding, it forbids sports which violate animal rights. Prior to Islam, some tribes used to run their camels as long as only one camel would survive.

Some others made animals like dogs and roosters fight one another. These acts are strictly forbidden by Islam.

Humans are responsible for whatever animals they have in their possession.

‘Ali ibn Abu Talib(a) says: “Be obedient to God regarding His subjects …. at your disposal, for you are responsible even for the survival of animals.”

According to Islam, when someone takes possession of an animal, he/ she undertakes the responsibility for its living conditions, preparing suitable food and water, mental, physical

wellbeing and good hygiene. Animals should be treated well, especially when ill. Islam even goes as far as saying that if the person does not perform his/ her responsibility well then it is the government’s duty to compel him/her to observe animal rights.

It is certainly true that some modern scientific experiments could be tested on humans if it were not possible to perform the tests on animals. However clinical procedures using laboratory animals have made significant contributions to biomedical research as well as to the safety and effective evaluation of chemicals and products of various kinds. Therefore some procedures, such as the use of vertebrate animals for the interests of human and other animals will continue for the foreseeable future. In light of the traditions of Islam, some basic and applied research in the biological and social sciences on animals is justified if the laboratory animals are not caused pain or disfigured, and only if human or other animals stand to benefit from that research. • Tahereh Shafiee is a freelance writer interested in social and religious issues.

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Why this sudden insane hatred of Russia? Why the relentless, rampant Russophobia dominating British media? What is it all in aid of? asks Frank Gelli

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n a Sunday Times article writer Ben Judah painted an almost apocalyptic – one of his words - picture of contemporary Russia. The glitter of the successful Sochi Games in his opinion was illusory. Instead, he evoked packs of stray dogs roaming the streets, broken roads, endemic corruption, resentful middle classes, the rich spiriting away money and children abroad, terrorism in the Caucasus, waste, greed and decadence everywhere. All presided over by a lonely, isolated and beleaguered Putin.

Russia was once part of the Soviet Union. A country perceived as a universal, vicious spider, poised to strike at and annihilate the so-called ‘free world’. Soviet state ideology of course was Communism – an atheistic, hegemonic, and aggressive doctrine aimed at world conquest. It was not irrational back then for Brits and other nations to fear the spider but… it is all ancient history now: Communism is defunct and the Soviet Union self-destructed in 1991.

The new Russia, despite hysterical media attempts to pretend the opposite, has no imperialist ideology. It does not wish to export and impose abroad a menacing system or alien way of life. Putin does not threaten to subjugate Europe. Only a lunatic would accuse him, like another Napoleon or Hitler, of plotting to invade

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England. Of preparing to dispatch his fleet across the channel, in order to march his Cossacks into London. Laughable scenario, so…why this pathological hatred?

Let us remember that twice in the past century Russia has been Britain’s ally. In the two world wars. It was of course a matter of strategy, Realpolitik, not congenial partnership. Britain feared Russian rivalry in central Asia as threatening her Indian empire. On the other hand, British liberals and radicals detested Tsarist autocracy.

Hatred of Germany took precedence over anything else, however, and so Russia shed its young men’s blood in a common cause with the Entente – and disastrously lost.

In WW2 Churchill courted Stalin, swallowing his deep-seated anti-Bolshevik feelings and bending over backwards to humour Uncle Joe. That too was a marriage of convenience – loathing of Germany again the unifying factor. After victory – and the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe agreed at Yalta - the Cold War followed. Evil Russians became stock villainous figures and bogeys in innumerable movies, novels, essays etcetera. 007’s From Russia With Love – do you remember it? Symptomatically, a new production of John Le Carre’s anti-Russian espionage series, Smiley’s People, is on TV. Goodbye to all that.

Fast forward to 2014. The British media pullulate with news hostile to Russia. Gays incidentally loom large, because of a Russian law forbidding homosexual propaganda to children. It is interesting that the much admired, late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1988 did push through parliament Section 28 of the Local Government Act. It forbade The new Russia, despite hysterical media the promotion of homosexuality in schools. A law attempts to pretend the opposite, has no only repealed in 2003. A critic might hazard the suspicion that the current British ‘homophilia’ is imperialist ideology. It does not wish to perhaps a little disingenuous. A cynical pretext to export and impose abroad a menacing bash the Russkies. After all, many types of sexual system or alien way of life. liberties and speech regarding minors are still not acceptable or legal, even in permissive Britain, are they?

In this respect, a sharp piece in the Washington Times by Ian Ayres and William Eskridge has accused the West of hypocrisy. Because three US states – Utah, Alabama and Texas – have anti-gay laws. Other states have some form of “no promo homo provisions”. Why target and scream at Russia then?

Ben Judah – a pleasant-looking, dark-haired young man – speaks of the terrorist threat in Russia. It emanates chiefly from the Caucasus, engendered by the brutal, savage repression carried out in Chechnya. I have no doubt that the Russians behaved abominably against the Chechen civilian population. I also believe that Chechen people have the right to self-determination and should be free. Nonetheless, technically speaking they still belong to the Russian federation. Their separatism hence is primarily a matter for Russia. Britain does not dispute that. However, Afghanistan and Iraq are certainly not British either but that did not stop the UK from launching aggressive wars against them. Double standards?

Concerning the putative science of geopolitics, the Russian writer Alexander Dugin has claimed to identify two key factors in world history. Some nations are ‘land powers’, whilst others should be described as sea-faring powers. For example, Russia is essentially a land power, Britain a sea power. To each category would correspond a quite distinct national psychology or consciousness. Very well but the question is whether or not such theoretical distinctions make for inevitable conflict.

Hardly so, if the two countries have fought together so recently in the last century.

Maybe it is a pity that there is no longer a common enemy.

Hhhmm…Unless Angela Merkel can be persuaded to play the ogre, who knows?

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Another topical subject is the Ukraine. The country has a long history shared with Russia, with which it was united in the 9th century AD, Kiev being the capital. The cradle indeed of the three major Slav nations is Kievan Rus, whose civilisation owed much to Byzantine influence. After a time of division between Poland, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, in 1785 Ukraine was reunited with Russia. A brief spell of independence after WW1 followed. It was under Stalin! Britain’s jolly old chum again – that the Ukrainian people suffered the most atrocious genocide. At Stalin’s behest, seven million human beings were starved to death. Ukrainians call that horror holodomor – the hunger. The evil dictator’s aim was both to annihilate the peasantry and to weaken the fibre of the Ukrainian nation. He largely succeeded.

After the Soviet Union’s demise Ukraine became an independent republic. Religious and cultural conflicts smoulder on. The Orthodox Church is divided among: 1. Ukrainians loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate, hence pro-Russian; 2. Those under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and 3. Those giving their allegiance to an independent Kiev patriarch.

Moreover, a Uniate Church in communion with Rome is at loggerheads with the Eastern Orthodox. Today maybe half of the population hankers after the fleshpots of the EU. The precise role of the European Union and the US in stirring up the violent protests that have toppled an elected government has still to be ascertained, but few doubt that it is real. Neo-Nazi groups have been at work, too.

Russia naturally does not wish to have a rather Putin’s strong man’s image rubs up unfriendly NATO encircling her further. Still, half of Western liberals the wrong way – they Ukrainians lean towards Russia. Further, Russians predominate in the disputed Crimean peninsula, who put up with Blair and Bush till in which a dispossessed Tatar minority also exists. yesterday! His apparent conversion to A tricky business but not Britain’s business, for Christian values compounds the problem. sure. Unless of course Britain deliberately seeks to provoke Putin into military intervention. Do I detect perfidious Albion’s hand?

Syria: another golden opportunity for Russophobes to yell out their paranoia. A bloody civil war rages on. Neither side seems likely to triumph. Russia can help towards a negotiated solution. Britain is concerned about her jihadi nutters there – what happens when they come home? There is a common interest to work together against terrorism but Britain does not get that. Mystery.

So, why the insane hatred? You can rationalise it. Putin’s strong man’s image rubs up Western liberals the wrong way – they who put up with Blair and Bush till yesterday! His apparent conversion to Christian values compounds the problem.

Our elites get febrile when it comes to ‘doing God’. But in the end it may just boil down to a primitive, savage desire to set up a bogey man. A bad guy. A foreign Aunt Sally to throw balls at. To divert attention from real problems right here, at home.

While reading Ben Judah I found myself wondering: broken, atomised society?

Poverty? Violence? Feral youths? Hellish council estates? Desperate people? Rioting mobs? Er…Russia or…does it sound all too familiar? Like…home? •

Revd Frank Julian Gelli is an Anglican priest, cultural critic and a religious controversialist, working on religious dialogue. His last book “Julius Evola: the Sufi of Rome’ is available on Amazon Kindle.

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the process of manufacturing

what we think In relations between the nations of the world what may appear as normal language and behaviour are in reality examples of powerful hegemonic nations trying to exert cultural control, according to Muhammad Haghir

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riginating from the Greek ‘hegemon’ meaning ‘leader’, the Oxford English Dictionary gives the word this definition: ‘leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others’; for example, the hegemonic ‘dominance’ of European powers in the 19th century over other parts of the world. But this only tells us what hegemony does, not what it is, how it comes about, and how it operates.

Taken for granted ideas about our world, its value systems and cultures do not develop in a vacuum or by accident. There are mechanisms at work which persuade us to accept the ways that we perceive society and ourselves within it. We grow to accept definitions about ourselves given to us by others to the extent that we forget who we are. One of these mechanisms is known as hegemony. Indeed, in political parlance, especially in discussions of global politics, time after time we hear this word and its other derivatives.

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During the earlier part of the 20th century, the Italian Marxist philosopher and sociologist Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) further developed the political idea of hegemony. Gramsci provided a radical departure from orthodox Marxist thinking by introducing the idea of ‘cultural hegemony’. Whereas for Marx it was the economic material base of society that determined the nature of all other social formations (cultural, political, legal, artistic, etc.), for Gramsci it is the culture of that society that determines what social institutions there are and the functions they fulfil. Crucially, hegemony unfolds in ‘civil society’.

the disaffected voices in the power structure in some way or, failing that, by police or military suppression. And all this takes place without the hegemon’s direct involvement, for example in the recent history of the British Empire or, currently, the US. Thus, the US has been seen as a hegemonic ‘hyperpower’, willing (if needs be, as in Iraq or Afghanistan for instance), to take unilateral action militarily, economically, culturally, etc., in order to maintain its hegemonic position. Others, however, doubt that the US is capable of maintaining this position due to dwindling financial and/ or military resources that are required to achieve global hegemony.

For Gramsci, in capitalist societies, the state uses cultural institutions (educational, political, artistic, the family, the legal system, etc.) to maintain power and control. Gramsci called this ‘cultural hegemony’ whereby one social (ruling) class, manipulates the value system in order to establish the ruling class’s worldview. Here, manipulation translates into justification for that worldview. Thus, the rule of one particular social group over others becomes accepted as a fact of life. The same cultural processes can also be seen, operating in the same way, in the international arena and between nation states. In his sociology of international relations, Gramsci related this ‘cultural hegemony’ to what is known as ‘geopolitical hegemony’, or in everyday language, imperialism.

In the field of international politics we can see the intimate connection between a culturally imposed hegemony and the ideology of Orientalism which provides analyses of the very material (people and societies) that the former attempts to manipulate and control. In other words, Orientalism studies various (so-called undeveloped) societies in their languages, costumes, habits, and general ways of being. It then reports certain findings. These findings (which are always given the status of irrefutable knowledge) are then put at the disposal of specialists who utilise them to implement cultural hegemony by changing the most basic elements of various cultures. This is how phenomena such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola take on identities that are more than their professed brands and commercial interests.

They become parts of peoples’ daily lives, residing in their bodies as well as in their spirits. Thus, every aspect of a targeted society is studied with the aim of changing it into something that it is not through operations of hegemony. What can be expected from the future of such a state of affairs?

In cultural imperialism, dominance is established by means of the leader dictating to the subordinate states the form that the latter’s social character and internal politics should take. Hegemony here is achieved either by sponsored internal

Taken for granted ideas about our world, its value systems and cultures do not develop in a vacuum or by accident. There are mechanisms at work which persuade us to accept the ways that we perceive society and ourselves within it.

Hegemony is effective because all the hegemon’s aims are achieved without any direct involvement… Thus, the US has been seen as a hyperpower’, willing to take unilateral action militarily, economically, culturally, … in order to maintain its hegemonic position.

governments or, failing that, an externally installed government. One way or another, what matters here is the imposition of the hegemon’s way of life and everything that goes with it including bureaucracies that run deep into the social, political, and cultural fabric of the subordinate state.

Whilst it is not easy to give any concrete answers to the above question, we can conjecture as to what all theoretical constructs such as Orientalism or hegemony will not achieve. No Orientalist view of the world, no hegemonic superpower, would be able to say what is when it is not forever. In Ukraine currently, for example, the International Monitory Fund’s (IMF) rush to provide finances to West Ukrainians can be seen as a hegemonic attempt to bring that country into the Western fold.

In the long run, even if successful, such attempts would not be able to cut away Ukrainians, Western or Eastern, from what they see as their Ukraine. In other words, whether Western or Eastern inclined, Ukrainians will always remain Ukrainians.

The effectiveness of hegemony comes from the general consent given to it by the targeted population - civil society. One of the best and most widely used ways of achieving this consent is through the manipulation and use of language. Here, the hegemon imposes the official language used to propagate information. It is therefore in a position to dictate limits on what information is given out. The mass media is the main mechanism by which such linguistic norms are achieved and propagated.

Cultural hegemony establishes the social structures with which the ruling class then establishes cultural dominance in order to impose and justify the status quo as natural, inevitable, and beneficial to all. Hegemony thus hides the fact that it is itself an artificial social construct designed solely to preserve the interests of the ruling group, either within a society or between states. Hegemony has been seen as a political relationship of power where those who are subordinated are expected to modify their ways of existence according to the hegemon’s interests which are, more often than not, alien and detrimental to the wellbeing of the former.

Hegemony is effective because all the hegemon’s aims are achieved without any direct involvement and/or incurring of costs. If there are any local problems, suppressing them is a job allocated to the indigenous ruling - usually minority - elite. Under hegemony, discontent is treated as rebellion and is confronted either by including

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Any false and forced (soft or hard) view of anything will eventually lead to an understanding of the very falsity that has been forced. In this context we can also conjecture that future generations will be much more aware than us and that they will guard themselves against attempts to turn them into anything that they are not.

So, for example, once everyone understands that government policies are operated through and for corporate interests, then people will begin to question their own consumer habits, political views, cultural expectations, etc. A good question that everyone ought to be asking themselves is: who decides what society’s values and cultural norms should be? Once this question has been asked the search for possible answers will follow. Those answers should then help us develop what one observer has called our ‘un-common sense’. That is to say, if understanding what is given to us as our predetermined social values and culture is common sense, and given the state of this falsely created culture, we ought to be countering it by developing our own un-common sense. •

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GROWING INTO A BETTER MUSLIM Batool Haydar looks at the simpler things that we sometimes overlook in the big picture of life and how they can change our journey towards God

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odern life is all about speed. In the beginning, when our computers started working faster and our machines produced the things we needed more quickly, life seemed to get better. Suddenly there was more of everything! As the ability to supply became easier, demand grew as well. After all, if a balance was not maintained, then economies would collapse and systems would fall apart.

Sadly though, what we created instead was the proverbial ‘rat-race’. People got caught up in exhausting, unrelenting lifestyles in order to both supply and be able to afford the things that they themselves were creating a demand for. Humanity tried to keep up with the breakneck speed of technological advancements and failed.

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Today, we often speak very eloquently and passionately on matters of religion and faith, but on the flipside, we also compromise a lot more when it comes to our actions. Some of the common issues people bring up include the awkwardness of having to excuse oneself from a class or a meeting in order to go and pray on time, or the embarrassment that accompanies having to withhold one’s hand from a handshake with a member of the opposite gender. These seem like little things that are getting too much attention, but it is our own Prophet(S) who has emphasised “Do not look at the insignificance of the sin, but look at the greatness of whom you have sinned against.”

Within a few years it seemed that mankind was left playing catch-up with machines.

So many of us live our lives by rote: studying all day and night, taking extra classes in order to pass exams that will allow entry into a prestigious institute of higher education. This - we hope - increases our chances of getting a cushy job in which we work ridiculous hours to climb up the ladder and be successful and live a comfortable life.

The routine is so ingrained into our mentality that we often simply assume that our efforts are aimed at ‘succeeding’ without defining what it means to us personally and specifically. As a result, we don’t pause to question whether the sacrifices we make are worth achieving the success we seek.

We spend the best years of our childhood and youth following a path that isn’t aimed at fulfilling us as people, but rather fulfilling material demands dictated by societal and cultural expectations. We seem to think that this is what life is about: to come into this world and do what everyone has done before, trying to be that much better at it than those around us and just get to the end (which no one really thinks much about).

The Qur’an reminds us time and again about our priorities in life, about the true definition of success. Muslims are entrusted with a wealth of wisdom about the transient nature of this material world, with thousands of words of advice about the importance of The End and preparing for what comes after it. But, even with all the admonitions and warnings, we still forget - every single day - about the real purpose of our existence.

It is true that we are a lot more visible than our parents and grandparents were.

We hold seminars and workshops; we create organisations and hold awareness programmes, fund-raising and relief events. All of these are excellent things, but is Islam about holding events and spread some knowledge and information? Or about doing the things that identify you as a Muslim like praying and fasting and wearing the hijab?

The first messages of Islam were general and universal - equality, justice, humanity, charity, morality, honesty, modesty, humility, sincerity - all behavioural principles aimed at raising the moral standards of any society. The Prophet(s) did this by first being an example of undeniably excellent etiquette before even mentioning a belief system.

The dos and don’ts of Islam were revealed gradually over the years of Prophethood, but the spiritual principles on which our faith is founded were established immediately and completely. And while there were exceptions to the laws for the sick, the unable, and the traveller, there is no compromise when it comes to justice, humanity or sincerity. The philosophy of doing what is morally right and shunning what is wrong has always been absolute and firm.

It may be time for Muslims to sit back and re-assess the benchmarks by which they measure the quality of their achievements. Time perhaps to look at the smaller, less public changes that they can make on a daily basis because after all, Islam is not about telling others what to do, it is about inward growth, about becoming something yourself i.e. a true servant of God. The three aspects below could potentially change our lives if we used them to filter our perspective.

Compromise: Before verbally spreading the message of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad(s) first established himself as being different - as being above the moral standards of the times. He did not try to blend in or be more like the crowd. He came to stand out from the norm and it was this that made the people around him realise his value and accept his words when he did begin to spread God’s message.

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We need to ask ourselves about our role models. For centuries, we have had personalities in Islamic history - both male and female - of all races, who have lived exemplary lives as true Muslims. How familiar are they to us? Have we studied their lives enough to find the inspiration to follow their examples in the hope of achieving what they did?

Opportunity Mankind is stuck in an unforgiving, self-destructive routine.

We need to slow down and to begin to live once again. Once we do this, we will understand the value of every second and to appreciate why God emphasises ‘Time’ so much that He even swears by it in His Book (103:1) We all know that we have a limited number of days on this side of life. We spend a large part of those days building a temporary future in this world. However, every minute is a chance to invest in the Future that we will all face after death so we must constantly consider whether we have set aside enough time for our permanent abode.

Humanity tried to keep up with the breakneck speed of technological advancements and failed. Within a few years it seemed that mankind was left playing catch-up with machines.

Muslims are entrusted with a wealth of wisdom about the transient nature of this material world, with thousands of words of advice about the importance of The End and … But, even with all the admonitions and warnings, we still forget - every single day - about the real purpose of our existence.

Although we only have to do a bare minimum to gain entry to Heaven, in order to achieve true success, we need to go the extra mile and actually hunt for opportunities to please God. It could be as simple as giving up some cherished me-time to serve others or going out shopping to buy new things for the needy instead of handing over things we no longer need.

The secret of all success lies in the ‘doing’. Seeking knowledge may be one of the most recommended acts, but a scholar who does not practise what he or she has learnt is cursed. The more ways we discover to act, the more we grow and the more likely that pathways of progress will open for us. There is no restriction or conditional clause on growth in Islam. God will never prevent a person from becoming a better Muslim - all that is required on our part is sincere effort. •

God has made it clear that while we must speak respectfully to people of all faiths or no faith, this does not mean that we have to compromise our stand in the process. (Qur’an, 109:1-6).

Affiliation Just last month, when a Kenyan actress won an Oscar, the papers and social media were abuzz with stories of her achievement. People associated themselves with her based on nationality, circumstances and race even though they had not heard of her before she was nominated for the award.

Across the world, Kenyans, black women and young girls aspiring to stardom were calling her their role model. They saw something familiar in her that they could connect to and take inspiration from.

Batool Haydar is a wordsmith who has written many articles and blogs.

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Self knowledge Drawing upon a rich Islamic spiritual theology Julia Khadija Lafene describes the interaction between body and soul explaining how through an awareness of what and who we are we can get closer to our Creator

“He who knows himself knows his Lord” - Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (a)

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his famous saying is often quoted, with an assumption that its meaning is clear to any good Muslim. But is it? If we reflect deeply upon its meaning and apply it to our lives as Muslims, we will benefit greatly.

How can knowing oneself enable one to know God? Much has been written on this subject by scholars. However, with the help of wise teachers I have tried to understand what it means to me as an ordinary Muslim so that I can share these insights with others.

What do we mean by the ‘self ’ ?

According to Qur’anic teachings, the human being is composed of a body (jism) created from clay, including outer senses and a self (nafs), which includes the nonphysical aspects of a person (mind, character, inner senses) animated by the soul or spirit (ruh) from the breath of God. Sometimes the term ‘nafs’ is used to mean ‘soul’, as for example when God tells us we are made ‘min nafsin wahidatin’ (from one soul), and when it means the individuated self. The context makes this clear, as for example, when we are told that when good comes to us, it is from God, but when evil comes, it is from our own selves. ‘Nafs’ refers to the lower self. This ‘self’ has a lower and a higher aspect and has also been created by God so that we can make choices on our journey back to our creator. If we

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consisted only of ‘ruh’ we would be like the angels who have no choice but to obey, whereas we have been given a certain amount of freedom as individuals because God wants us to choose Him.

When a child is born s/he enters this world with pure consciousness from the breath of the Almighty. As soon as the ruh joins the body, with its physical characteristics, outer senses and genetic inheritance, conditioned consciousness starts to develop and interacts with the environment to form the individual person. Hence it is essential for the environment in early childhood to promote the development of a healthy and balanced individual. In the early stages the ‘nafs’ is entirely self-centred, part of a very natural process, which wise parents do not suppress. Islamic philosophers call this the nafs al-ammaara or commanding self. However, as the child grows, this self has to be trained; otherwise it continues to dominate the personality. As adults we still have a bit of this nafs in us, and sometimes it controls us, so that we are selfish, demanding and hot-tempered. In this connection, when the Prophet(s) was asked if he had a ‘nafs’, said that he had but he kept it under his feet.

As a person develops s/he learns to control himself, and understand the difference between good and bad behaviour. For example a child of two may feel quite hostile towards a new baby sibling, but an older child has feelings of nurturing and can overcome its jealousy if it is well prepared to welcome the new one. This second stage of the nafs is the nafs al-lawwaama, or ‘reproachful self’, the beginnings of the conscience.

The third stage is the nafs al-mulhama, ‘the inspired self’, when the person wants to be free to express himself, but also to care for others. This is the stage of many creative people. Their love of excessive freedom makes them unable to maintain the balance, or mizaan, in living their lives. When a person’s self has become nafs al-mutma’inna, or ‘certain self’, he is content with his life, and ready to meet his Lord. (Qur’an 89:27) In most of us these ‘stages’ co-exist simultaneously, but usually one is dominant at any point in time. There are also even higher stages until finally the person is totally in tune with his Lord (known as nafs al-kaamila, ‘the perfected self’). At the higher stages the self is unified with the soul and the lower self is well under the person’s control. The Prophets and awliyaa (saints) reached these stages.

The main characteristic of our lower self is that it wants to be in control and mimic the soul where the attributes of God reside (those which we can imitate, of course, such as generosity - some pertain only to Him). When an action comes from the lower self, it is usually out of balance, or has dubious motivation, because the ‘I’ is dominant. For example, we are told to be generous to the poor, but if we do this, in order to be praised, the action loses some of its virtue, so it is better to do it quietly.

How can we ‘know’ our ‘self ’ ?

How can we know when we are acting from the higher? The self can be very tricky and pretend it is very virtuous! The key to self-knowledge is awareness, witnessing and reflection (tafakkur). This starts with intention (niyya) and seeking guidance (hidaaya). From an early age we can be trained to question ourselves, not in a state of guilt, but with genuine understanding of our state.

Correct training is crucial, so that children can understand and control themselves in later life, not through making them feel inadequate, but by example reasoning and allowing them to experience the outcome of wrong actions. If for example a child steals money from his parents, the parents must not lose their temper, as this would be a bad example for the child. If the parent does this s/he is acting from his/her own lower self. Of course the parent can show anger and disapproval, but it should be controlled and directed at the action, not the person of the child. The parent should confront the child with the consequences of the action by asking questions - ‘Why was that money in the purse, and what was it for?’ ‘What do you

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think will happen if you steal things?’ In this way the conscience is activated and the child’s higher self will begin to see that dishonesty is wrong. But it will not work unless parents are honest and clear with their children about what is/ not acceptable.

Stories are an excellent way of developing the higher self. The story of the Prophet Yusuf(a) illustrates the outcomes of deception. Yusuf’s magnanimous behaviour towards his brothers is an excellent example of the higher self at work and of course, we have the consistently high standard in the behaviour of the Prophet Muhammad(s).

In Islam we are encouraged not to dwell too much upon past errors and misfortunes.

If we regret something, we ask for forgiveness and avoid the same error in future.

However things happened in the past which helped to form our character, so we need to work on these to move on. Otherwise we tend to repeat the same mistakes.

How often have we heard a person say: ‘That’s how I am’, as if their character is written in stone. But we human beings have been given the gift of Will (iraada) to enable us to change with the help of God. Imagine someone has become addicted to alcohol or drugs and is experiencing its disastrous consequences (ill health, family break-up, etc). He wants to break away from the cycle of dependency but feels unable to do so. But he is not just an addictive personality. He like all human beings, has a soul and a higher self which seeks to emulate the attributes of his Lord. But the lower self has perverted the soul’s desire for tranquillity and contentment by deceiving him into believing that the temporary state of addiction will achieve this.

So the first step is to perceive that his self is deceiving him. He may need the help of a counsellor or supportive community to examine himself, to delve into his past, but NOT wallow in it. Perhaps there was some inadequacy in his upbringing. Whatever the causes, he needs to see these, ask God to forgive him and those who did him wrong. Above all he needs to change his perception and see himself as a higher being animated by the blessed breath of the Almighty and precious in His sight. ‘..and wherever you turn, there is the face of God’.(2:115) Sometimes the person must experience the drastic outcomes of their behaviour, especially if they have harmed someone. Justice is also a part of changing the perception of self. Many ex-prisoners have helped others to change by understanding this and changing themselves. All of us can go through a similar ongoing process of self-examination and self-awareness.

How does this enable us to know God? This question has already been partly answered. The more we refer to our higher self, the more we will remove the self-erected veils between us and our Lord. People often speak of ‘getting closer’ to God. In fact His Light already illuminates us.

God says ‘We are closer to him than his jugular vein’. (50:16) It is we that separate ourselves from Him. By being aware of the operation of our lower self, we can constantly bring ourselves back to Him though we are often forgetful! Spiritual tools, such as prayer, remembrance of God, asking forgiveness, giving thanks, praise, fasting, & reciting the Holy Qur’an help us in this never-ending task. When performed with mindfulness, we immediately become aware of what our self is doing/planning, and can take counter measures.

We can do this at any time; it’s a matter of shifting our perception, though not always easy! We can start with small things until such reflection becomes a habit. •

Julia Khadija Lafene has a degree in Modern History from Oxford University. Born in India, she lived and taught in Nigeria for 16 years and has worked as a lecturer in Language and Learning Support in the UK. Since embracing Islam she has studied Islamic psychology and self-knowledge.

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Interfaith

The interfaith movement:

Learning to see differences differently

Proposing a fresher approach to interfaith activities Charlotte Dando believes the time has come to move from our comfort zones and find meanings in our differences Interfaith is a word that I’ve heard, but not necessarily understood.

Because I always understood interfaith to be people sat around a table each with their holy book, saying, Oh, you have the story of Noah’s ark, and so do I!” And I don’t think that’s the correct understanding of interfaith…

Interfaith isn’t about reading books, it’s about getting to know people for who they are and what they believe in, and letting their character inspire you to become more fervent in your own faith.’

These are the words of a young Muslim interfaith activist interviewed last summer as part of a research project I was carrying out on religious identity in interfaith work. The quote hints at the fact that interfaith dialogue can create

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extremely polite spaces, filled with well-meaning people, where selected scripture is shared in order to reveal how alike each religion is. It’s what another young Muslim interfaith activist described to me as the “tea and samosa” type of interfaith work.

Such interactions are pleasant enough, maybe they can be insightful and meaningful, but I can’t help but question whether the interfaith movement could have more impact. Interfaith work has the potential to effect real change in and between individuals and groups, far beyond the tea table. But if interfaith work is to effect individual, and then societal change, it needs to be more relevant to young people, and I’m afraid the scriptural dialogue model just won’t cut it.

It also becomes necessary to step further from our comfort zone - we need to talk about difference. Otherwise how can interfaith advocates claim to break down prejudices and build peace, when at so many interfaith events there are so often (small herds of) elephants in the room?

When faced with difference, it has been argued that the human tendency is to mark individual distinctiveness in opposition to that difference. In other words, we understand more about what we are by asserting what we are not.

Such thinking creates clearly defined boundaries between “us” and “them”, and all too often, religious identity operates in this way. When religious identity is defined in opposition to difference it can lead to problems of exclusion, conflict and stereotyping, and in its most extreme manifestation, it may lead to violence.

It is unsurprising then that for many years the interfaith movement in the UK has tended to concentrate on similarities between religions rather than focus on differences. If one of its main aims is to create real relationships across - and in spite of - religious differences, it is reasonable that the interfaith movement should seek commonality and shared goals. As an interfaith activist of many years, I believe in the

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significance of seeking overlaps, shared beliefs and practices, and in working together towards the common good. I believe just as strongly, however, that those involved in interfaith work should also seek to expose and understand religious differences.

The interfaith activist and Harvard Professor Diana Eck writes of ‘energetic engagement with diversity’ and ‘the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference’. When interfaith work focuses on similarities alone, we do not cross those lines of difference. In some cases we don’t even acknowledge that such lines exist. With all of my heart, I believe in the potential for peace in and between religions. What’s more, I have had some of my most powerful spiritual moments as part of an interfaith prayer group.

TV shows right through to our thoughts on the afterlife. We share the same sense of humour and can waste hours in silliness. Certainly, our religious beliefs have a number of overlaps and we regularly pray together; something I find both enjoyable and spiritually fulfilling. Yet we disagree fundamentally on a number of issues which hold a great deal of meaning in both of our lives.

And some of the most meaningful (and undoubtedly difficult) interactions we have shared are when we have explored our differences. After one such dialogue, I came home in an emotionally charged state and scribbled in to a notepad: ‘Fundamentally disagreeing based on religious difference, with someone who you know truly thinks carefully, reflects deeply, and who you love and respect,

Interfaith work might offer a special space in which we start to see difference not as a negative to define oneself against, but as an opportunity for mutual growth.

But it really bothers me when interfaith work heads down the path of a “we’re all the same really” philosophy. Because no - actually we’re not all the same. We are really quite different. This kind of thinking not only ignores the phenomenal and rich histories, the intricate and established practices, and the most deeply held convictions of each and every religious tradition and every individual of faith, but it also misses an opportunity for spiritual growth, for deeper understanding and for mutual transformation.

I would describe myself as a postChristian, liberal Quaker who takes my spiritual journey seriously. One of my very closest friends happens to be a deeply committed and extremely religiously literate Muslim woman. We talk about everything - from our favourite

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for mutual growth. Interfaith work may open up a new way of understanding difference; it might allow us to see difference differently.

Once we have exhausted discussion of similarities, and once we have built trust, let’s see how transformative interfaith work can really be by boldly approaching our differences. It won’t always be easy, and will require commitment and trust. But actually, interfaith work already relies on difference as a starting point, and it does not position difference as a negative. For within the best interactions, difference is what binds interfaith advocates; difference is that which is shared; difference draws participants together; difference creates discussion and curiosity; and difference leads to the discovery of commonality which remains marked by distinctiveness. But if it is really possible for interfaith advocates to conceive of difference differently, then perhaps it’s time we started to talk about it a little more often. •

is one of the most powerful things you will ever do.’

Fundamentally disagreeing with my best friend can be painful and is very, very difficult. And certainly we can’t expect that virtual strangers at an interfaith dialogue should immediately disagree so strongly. Yet we need to aim to go deeper than similarities. It is the transformative nature of such disagreements which have assured me of the power of interfaith work to truly change individuals and society for the better. For it is only when we are able to strongly disagree, yet remain respectful towards one another, that society will become more peaceful, coherent and resilient.

Interfaith work therefore, might offer a special space in which we start to see difference not as a negative to define oneself against, but as an opportunity

DIGITAL EDITION 6 months £10.00 12 months £18.00 Subscribe online: Charlotte Dando is an interfaith activist based in London. She is Assistant Director of the William Temple Foundation and holds an MA in the study of Religions from SOAS, University of London.

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Health Medical Editor Laleh Lohrasbi

Mental Health

Stigma

Not all illnesses are perceived the same way, but some have a long history of misconception. Laleh Lorasbi asks for more awareness to combat the stigma of mental illnesses.

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Illness� is a condition of being unhealthy, in the body or mind. Mental illness, just like any other physical illness, is due to a kind of physiological imbalance in the body’s normal activities. For example if the pancreas secretes insulin, in the right moment and right amount, then blood levels of sugar will be within normal levels, but any imbalance can lead to diabetes. Now most mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in nerves in which the effects are as real as imbalance of insulin in a diabetic patient, even though there is no direct lab test to

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persons with mental illness around, so they do not hire them. People do not trust these patients for doing social activities such as childcare services, customer services, teaching etc. The 1996 General Social Survey (GSS), in which the MacArthur Mental Health Module was administered to a probability sample of 1444 adults in the United States, found that more than half of respondents are unwilling to spend an evening socialising, working next to, or have a family member marry a person with mental illness (we are of course not talking about sociopaths or out of control people). Changing the public’s attitude toward mentally ill patients can be achieved using a couple of approaches. Group protests can be effective in aiming two messages: one to the media to stop reporting inaccurate information about mental illnesses and one to the public to change their negative views towards these patients. Research shows that citizens are influenced by protest efforts and that protest campaigns have been effective in getting stigmatising images of mental illness withdrawn.

identify that. Other factors which may affect mental health are life experiences, such as trauma or abuse, and family history of mental health problems.

Mental health problems include a vast range of disorders from mild depression to severe schizophrenia. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder.

Most people diagnosed with mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan. Numerous treatments and services for mental illnesses are available. The choice and combination of treatment (medications) and services depends on the type of mental illness, the severity of symptoms, the availability of options and decisions determined by the individual, often in consultation with their health care provider and doctors.

Usually a combination of treatments, services and support works the best. Certain mental problems will require medication but medication does not cure mental illness and in some cases one would have to use them permanently. However, they can often significantly improve the containment of symptoms and help promote recovery. These are recognised as first-line treatment for most individuals.

Educating the public with correct information is another effective approach to help them make more informed decisions about mental illness. Research has suggested that persons who evince a better understanding of mental illness are less likely to endorse stigma, discrimination and hence negative stereotypes. Education programmes can be held for a wide variety of participants, including college undergraduates, graduate students, adolescents, community residents, and persons with mental illness.

Stigma From the very beginning of human life, mental and physical health problems have been considered two distinct categories. People with physical health problems were at the centre of attention and mercy, being cared for and treated with kindness.

Mentally ill patients however were always treated differently, often rejected by society and considered as being affected by illness of the soul, evil or possessed by malevolent incorporeal entities. Even now in the modern world where general knowledge about diseases and their causes has risen, mentally ill patients are still considered outcasts.

Mental Health

Stigma

Mental and physical health can be affected by internal and external factors and bring about changes from good to bad and bad to good. Mental illnesses are more common than we assume, because people usually hide their mental problems from others. One in four people in UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives and around one in ten children experience mental health problems. The challenges of people with serious mental illness are compounded by the stigma. On one hand, they struggle with the symptoms and disabilities that result from the disease. On the other, they are challenged by the stereotypes and prejudice that result from misconceptions about mental illness.

People hate and judge what they don’t understand. The reaction and attitude toward people with mental health issues makes it difficult for them to interact with their family, friends, co-workers, employers and society. They are robbed of the opportunities that define a quality life: good jobs, safe housing, satisfactory health care, and affiliation with a diverse group of people. The isolation that they often face can also damage their physical health. The stigma burden may be defined in terms of three components: stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.

Stereotypes are usually negative beliefs, and unfriendly perception of persons with mental illness. Persons with mental illness are thought to be murderers, sociopaths, and wild people who are out of control. Television news does a good job of making people believe that persons with mental illness commit most of the violent crimes in society, but this is not so. Most criminals aren’t mentally ill; they are criminals, a fairly distinct category of people. When someone is disrespected or treated with condescension, he will be impacted. When this happens repeatedly on a daily basis, it becomes ingrained into the psyche and the affected person may eventually become the circus act people perceive him to be.

Prejudice is a behavioural reaction with discrimination. Employers do not want

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One in four people in UK will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives and around one in ten children experience mental health problems.

Everyone in society should keep in mind that mental illness, just like any physical disease, can happen to anybody regardless of race, age or health condition, and it’s quite likely that one day one of their friends, colleagues or family members may experience a mental health problem.

Personal contact with patients with mental illnesses can help a lot in diminishing the stigma. Research has shown that meeting a person with a patient who is able to hold down a job or lives as a good neighbour in the community, decreases the likelihood of them endorsing psychiatric stigma. Interpersonal contact is further enhanced when the general public is able to regularly interact with people with mental illness as peers.

Everyone in society should keep in mind that mental illness, just like any physical disease, can happen to anybody regardless of race, age or health condition, and it’s quite likely that one day one of their friends, colleagues or family members may experience a mental health problem. There are lots of simple, everyday ways to support someone who has a mental health problem. Small things can make a big difference – like being there to listen, keeping in touch and reminding the other person that he will be looked after. •

Changing Minds: BME Mental Health Conference is a high profile British conference. This one day conference on 15 April, aims at anyone who is involved in the area of mental health work. The focus of the conference will be on refugee and asylum seeker communities as well as the elderly.

Venue: Manchester Conference Centre, Weston Building, Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB

Dr Laleh Lohrasbi is a pharmacologist. She has worked as an editor for the medical section of “Hamshahri”, a daily newspaper in Tehran.

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Science

Time to tackle our sugar addiction We live in an ever more sugar driven food society. However unlike other essential fats and vitamins, we do not need sugar to survive. Perhaps it is time to consider consuming other forms of natural sugar, says Elham Ostad-Saffari

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eople are often unaware of the level of sugar they consume each day, as sugar is now routinely added to approximately three-quarters of all packaged and processed foods, including sliced bread, breakfast cereals, ready-made salad dressings and cooking sauces as well as many other staples. Worryingly, many low-fat products also have high amounts of sugar added to them.

Such is the alarm being caused that many in the medical field have declared war on the ingredient. The World Health Organisation has long been striving to radically reduce our daily consumption of sugar. In the US doctors and scientists are placing pressure on food companies to not only reduce sugar usage but to clearly state how much sugar they have added to their products, allowing the public to make more informed choices.

The UK also appears to be following suit. Among the steps being broached is the introduction of taxes on sugary drinks. Furthermore groups such as Action on Sugar have also recently started campaigns to persuade us to reduce our intake.

However not all sugars are bad. Sugars found naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and lactose in milk is not the main problem. The main concern is ‘added’ sugar to manufactured foods which conventionally is either table sugar, in the form of sucrose, or highfructose corn syrup.

Worryingly the food industry seems to have found a loophole in the amount of detail companies should put on food labels, making it ever more difficult to calculate the amount of ‘added’ sugar in foods, as labels currently don’t distinguish between natural and added sugar in foods.

Interestingly until the late 18th century, sugar was considered a precious and rare commodity; it was only introduced into the Western diet after the discovery of sugar cane and its cultivation under the system of slavery in the 1700’s. At its lowest, the average English household consumed as little as 2kg of table sugar a year. This trend has been spiralling upward at an alarming rate; with the yearly sugar consumption in the US currently close to 40kg per person –

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over 20 teaspoons of sugar per day! As a useful point of reference, a standard can of Coke contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar.

Not surprisingly this rise in consumption has also seen a parallel rise in obesity and secondary health problems including Type II diabetes with nearly one third of adults in the US now classed as medically obese. A recent study in the US found that adding 150 additional calories to daily intake from a wide range of foods and beverages only accounted for a 0.1% increase in diabetes prevalence; however, if those 150 extra calories came from sugar, the rate of diabetes surged by 1.1%.

While we cannot live without essential fats and proteins, as well as being dependent on some carbohydrates for energy, sugar is an entirely dispensable food. Many people are not aware of this simple fact.

Although the tongue cannot distinguish between the different types of sugar we eat, the body is well aware of the difference. Despite the fact that all types of sugar provide the same amount of energy per gram, their processing and usage by the body is vastly different.

For example glucose is considered the most important form of sugar and is often referred to as the body’s preferred energy source or blood sugar because it circulates in the body. Our bodies turn most of the carbohydrates we eat into glucose, which is then used for immediate energy or alternatively is stored in muscle cells or the liver as glycogen to be used at a later time. Importantly glucose levels are regulated by insulin,

which is the hormone responsible for maintaining blood glucose concentrations, as well as facilitating entry of glucose into cells and stimulating the production of Leptin, the hormone which lets us know when we are full.

Another type of sugar we often consume is fructose. While fructose sugar is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, it is also often added to fizzy and fruit-flavoured drinks. However, unlike glucose, this sugar is not the preferred energy source for our muscles or the brain. Instead, fructose is broken down almost exclusively in the liver. As such if we consume a lot of it, much of it is converted into fat; thus fructose is considered more fat-producing than glucose. Furthermore unlike glucose, it does not cause insulin release and/or the stimulated production of Leptin.

Due to these factors, scientists are now concerned about the chronic high intake of dietary fructose, as when taken regularly within the body it appears to behave more like fat than like other carbohydrates. Indeed in some animal and human studies high fructose diets have been shown to increase levels of triglycerides in the blood, in turn increasing the risk of clogged arteries and potential heart disease.

It is important also to note that sugarsweetened drinks which are composed of 65% fructose sugar do not make us feel full, but only increase the number of calories within one’s diet – namely because fructose does not activate the fullness hormone Leptin. So one is able to consume many more calories in a single sitting than one would normally.

The British Medical Journal recently published an article suggesting that with a 20% tax on sugary drinks, the UK could potentially reduce the number of obese people by as much as 180,000.

Some researchers see sugar not only as a source of excess calories, but more importantly, they believe sugar has addictive properties similar to drugs such as cocaine. This is because foods dense in fats and sugars are thought to trigger a reward system by boosting levels of dopamine – a chemical that allows the transmission of signals from the brain to other vital areas of the body – in a similar manner to addictive drugs. There is also evidence to show that people who have a binge-eating disorder have similar psychological characteristics to people with substance abuse problems.

While proposals to introduce taxation on sugary drinks look like a no-brainer in terms of overall health benefits to the general public, these suggestions will be met by fierce lobbying from the sugar industry. Other critics argue that the state should not dictate to us what we can and cannot do. However, regardless of the source and nature of the criticisms it is high time that western society started to get to grips with its sugar addiction. •

Dr Elham Ostad-Saffari has a PhD in Medical Genetics from Imperial College London. She is currently working in the pharmaceutical industry.

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Through April

8 – 10 April

Friday Nights Thought Forum

Discourse, Power, Resistance Conference 2014: Faith and Reason

London’s Weekly Open Gathering.

Venue: Islamic Centre of England, 140 Maida Vale, London W9 1QB Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Web: www.ic-el.com Email: education@ic-el.com Tel: 02076045500

Through 5 April

The Role of the Righteous Muslims - a Holocaust Memorial Exhibition A new exhibition aims to celebrate the role Muslims played in saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to victims of the Holocaust, honours nearly 25,000 so-called “righteous persons” who risked their lives to protect the Jewish community during Nazi Germany’s reign of terror. Some 70 Muslims have recently been added to the list. The exhibition explores their stories.

The Righteous Muslim Exhibition is being launched at Highgate Library, before moving to other libraries.

Venue: Stroud Green and Haringey Library, Quernmore Road, N4 4QR Tel: 020 8489 8776

7 – 10 April

Death and Resurrection: Course The AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) is proud to present its upcoming AIM Course entitled ‘Death and Resurrection: Understanding Life Beyond the Grave’. Taught by Shaykh Amin Rastani, this 8 hour course will delve into some of the major areas concerning death, barzakh, accountability and the hereafter.

Venue: Islamic Centre of England 140 Maida Vale, London, W9 1QB Time: 6.45PM – 9.30PM Fee: Regular fee £40, Student: £30, Family:(+2) £30 Web: www.aimislam.com/course-registration Payment: www.aimislam.com/payment-ofcourse-fees

Religion occupies a conflicting place in contemporary Western society. Our society swings between a ‘Disney-fication’ of religion, seeing it as no more than colourful festivals, exotic foods and quaint customs, and a demonisation which seeks to blame religious ideologies for most of the world’s woes. Debates around social cohesion, the role of women, and freedom of expression are constantly being replayed, but often instead simply augment fear and misunderstanding.

This symposium will seek to engage with faith beyond the caricatures and the recriminations, and examine both its private and public manifestations. Contributions - single or joint-authored papers, workshops, posters, exhibition work of performance - from practitioners, activists, researchers or policy-makers are welcomed.

Host: Rania Hafez Venue: University of Greenwich Time: 9.00 AM - 6.00 PM Registration fee: Full conference £275, Individual days £140 Web: www.dprconference.com/conference/ symposia/618-faith-and-reason

9 April - 3 May

Play: Oh My Sweet Land They call it a civil war, but there is nothing civil in this. Nothing civil at all. They came from Damascus, from Halab, from Banias where the bombs fall day and night and the wounded children look like sleeping angels. Now they live in camps and abandoned buildings in Lebanon or Jordan.

Now Syria is just a distant memory, a home forever lost. This urgent and extraordinary show explores the crisis in Syria through the stories of its two million refugees.

Organisers: Young Vic, Théâtre de VidyLausanne

Venue: Young Vic, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, London SE1 8LZ Performances: variable Tickets: £19.50 Previews (9 -12 April): £10

10 April - 31 May

...Cairo Stories by Judith Barry Waterside Contemporary is pleased to

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present ‘…Cairo Stories’, a video and photographic installation by Judith Barry, and her first solo exhibition at the gallery. Created from a collection of more than 200 interviews Barry conducted with Cairene women between the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, …Cairo stories is a series of short video monologues. The selection of stories chronicles personal experiences of women from a variety of social and economic classes in Egypt and expands the artist’s concerns with notions of representation, history, subjectivity, and translation – particularly as these ideas circulate across cultures.

Venue: Waterside Contemporary, 2 Clunbury Street, London N1 6TT Time: 12.00 PM – 6.00 PM

10 & 11 April

British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) Inaugural Conference: Showcasing Islamic Studies in the UK The British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS) is a learned society and professional organisation focused on enhancing research and teaching about Islam and Muslim cultures and societies in UK higher education. The Inaugural Conference of the Association aims at providing a showcase of the range and depth of Islamic Studies - broadly understood to include both Muslim-majority and Muslimminority contexts, and any region of the Islamic World (e.g. Middle East, South Asia, South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa) - across the UK.

Venue: John McIntyre Conference Centre, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5AY Time: 9.00 AM – 5.30 PM Fee: £85.00 (Student and Member discounts apply) Web: www.brais.ac.uk/inaugural-conference/

12 & 13 April

Al-Biruni On India – Revisiting Abu Rayhan al-Biruni and his Indica Al-Biruni is regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era, a polymath and polyglot, who became an authority on the history of religion and study of comparative religion, in particular Hinduism. He found different types of

Hindus, from those with a monotheistic understanding and those without. The course will look at the following: Al-Biruni: his life, work and worldview; Kitab al-Hind; Kitab Batanjal (Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras); and Q & A sessions

Speaker: Professor Bruce Lawrence [Duke

University, USA] Venue: Birkbeck College, Malet St, London WC1E 7HX Time: 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM Web: www.islamiccourses.org

15 April

Changing Minds: BME Mental Health Conference This will be a high profile one day conference aimed at anyone who is involved in the area of mental health work (grassroots, operational or at a strategic level). The focus of the conference will be on refugee and asylum seeker communities as well as the elderly.

Venue: Manchester Conference Centre, Weston Building, Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB Time: 9.30 AM – 3.30 PM Web: www.tazeem.shah@mc-uk.org.

Web: www.mc-uk.org

21 April

Save A Life 2014 (London) Charity dinner and concert with Native Deen, Saif Adam and Kareem Salam

Venue : Lyric Theatre, 29 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 7ES Time: 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM Email: info@humanappeal.org.uk Tel: 0161 225 0225 Tickets: £15 per person Web: www.beta.humanappeal.org.uk/tickets/ savealife/tickets.aspx

26 April

Conversation with author Dan Glazebrook on his new book: Divide and Ruin: The West’s Imperial Strategy in an Age of Crisis Originally published in The Guardian, Morning Star, Counterpunch, Z Magazine and Asia Times, Glazebrook has assembled these writings to illustrate a new

strategy by U.S., British and other imperialist powers. This new strategy employs proxy military forces to achieve regime change in any country that resists imperialism.

Organisers: Islamic Human Rights Commission, Venue: 202 Preston Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA9 8PA (nearest tube Preston Road, Met line) Time: 4.00 PM

Through April 27

Wise Men From the East: Zoroastrian Traditions in Persia and Beyond This exhibition will feature a variety of ancient and modern objects and coins, and will highlight the importance of Zoroastrian traditions in other religions. It will touch on the concept and imagery of the Three Kings of the Christian tradition, who are described in the New Testament (Matthew 2.2) as Magi from the east – Zoroastrian priests in the Persian tradition.

Magnificent Islamic coins from Mughal India which follow the Iranian Zoroastrian calendar adopted by the emperor Akbar (1556–1605) will also be on display.

Modern objects will show the ongoing legacy of this ancient Iranian religion and its significance as a symbol of national identity for Zoroastrian and non-Zoroastrian Iranians in modern Persia and beyond.

Venue: Room 69a, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG Fee: Free

29 April

Assessing the Impact of Interfaith Activities: Part Three The Woolf Institute is delighted to be launching a new lecture series: Assessing the Impact of Interfaith Activities. This series will examine the impact of current interfaith activities and consider a vision for the future.

Speakers : Ray Gaston (The Queen’s Foundation), Dilwar Hussain (New Horizons)

‘Travelling while Muslim: Schedule 7’ Roshan Muhammad Salih presents his documentary on the dreaded Schedule 7 powers, which give police the right to stop and search people at airports, to fingerprint them and take their DNA, and to hold them for up to 9 hours without legal representation. More than 70,000 people were stopped and questioned under the Schedule 7 law last year and although most of them were white, a hugely disproportionate number were ethnic minorities or Muslims. And the most intrusive and humiliating searches were conducted on those of “Muslim appearance.”

Organisers: Islamic Human Rights Commission, Venue: IHRC, 202 Preston Road, Harrow, HA9 8PA (nearest tube, Preston Road, Met line) Time: 6.00 PM

30 April

Contemporary Moroccan Literature The P21 Gallery is an independent London-based non-profit organisation established to promote contemporary Middle Eastern and Arab identities by focusing on their art and culture with distinct focus on Palestine. The work of artists in this and neighbouring regions is celebrated for its candour and innovation in the global art forums. However much of its manifestations cannot always find an audience in the West; such work is necessary, if not essential, to create a much needed dialogue between these artists and the wider global artistic community whose public remains increasingly interested in the art from such a complex and diversified region.

Set readings for each session are provided to participants.

Reading by: Dr. Karima Laachir, Chair, Centre for Cultural, Literary and Postcolonial Studies, SOAS, University of London.

Venue: P21 Gallery, 21 Chalton St, NW1 1JD Time: 6:45 PM - 8:00 PM Series: CCLPS Reading Group

Venue: Woolf Institute, Wesley House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BJ. Time: 5.00 PM Email: enquiries@woolf.cam.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1223 741 048

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