As a 9-year-old girl, I remember vividly during one of my summer vacations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, sitting in front of the television whose language was still unintelligible to me, and watching scenes whose substance needed no explanation. The clips contained images of old women hunched over headstones, shedding tears into clasped hands whilst coffins...
105 years ago on 16 May 1916, the Sykes-Picot agreement was signed. The British and French obtained mandates over different parts of Muslim lands, that had formerly been part of the Ottoman Empire. The First World War was very much a clash of dying empires competing to consolidate or take control of territories/regions. The aftermath...
Genocide, Nationalism and International law. Genocide is a heinous crime. The intentional attempt to punish or wipe out a people for any reason, be it political, religious, or racial falls foul of International conventions on genocide. Intent being the key word here. Even in wars, whether internal between communities or external against other countries, collectively...
The 3rd of March 1924 is a date etched in most Muslim minds as the moment the Ottoman Khilāfah (Caliphate) ended. This year, some Muslims are commemorating the 100-year anniversary (in the Hijri calendar) since the end of the Khilāfah. It marked the end of a title, political system, and ideal that had existed in one shape or another...
It seems a long time ago since George W Bush junior declared that the United States would spread democracy to the Muslim world. In the aftermath of 9/11, Western governments declared democracy to be a universal value to be aspired to. It was presented as the most modern and advanced form of government that humanity...
In our report “Creating a new Civilisation of Islam” we identify 12 approaches or factors that can help create greater solidarity between Muslims around the world. Factor six of the 12 we identify is a common language. Allied blocs of countries tend to have a common language that helps to bind separate states/people together. Blocs...
10 years ago, on the 25 January 2011, a wave of mass protests started in Egypt, following on from those in Tunisia ( which started the previous year). These popular mobilisations of people across different Arab countries are now being widely referred to as revolutions in the media. However, did these protests, and what came...
A report by Brown University analysing the human costs of war (September 2020), claims some 37 million people have become refugees since the start of the “war on Terror”. The displaced people includes 5.3 million Afghans, 9.2 million Iraqis, 3.7 million Pakistanis, 1.7 million Filipinos, 4.2 million Somalis, 4.4 million Yemenis, 1.2 million Libyans, and 7.1...
Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad in a recent publication of some his personal reflections, challenges Muslim communities to reflect on the changed conditions in which they live in the UK; and find a way of adjusting or coming to terms with them. Much of his reflections appear to be personal opinions (some have argued stereotypes). Nevertheless,...
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were a notorious antisemitic forgery used by antisemites as propaganda for anti-Jewish genocide. But Jahangir Mohammed, the director of the Ayaan Institute, argues similar conspiratorial theories about the Muslim Brotherhood could lead to an anti-Muslim genocide. History often repeats itself. So too does racism, bigotry, and hatred. At the...
