issue 28 vol.3

July/August 2015

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Editorial team

Back CoverThe Great Mosque of Sidi Uqba of Kairouan Tunisia. (Built 670CE)The mosque is considered, the oldest Islamicplace of worship in Africa

July/August 2015 Issue 28, Vol. 3 bi-monthly magazine

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

Health Editor Laleh Lohrasbi

Art Editor Moriam Grillo

Layout and Design Innovative Graphics

Aliya Azam

Cleo Cantone

Dirk Hartwig

Frank Julian Gelli

Julia Khadija Lafene

Nehad Khanfar

Tharik Hussain

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From the Editor

5 Evolving Revelation

Life & Community

6 The travel of the believers Tharik Hussain reminds Muslims of a few reasons why traveling should be impor-tant for them

Art

10 SoundTasawar Bashir

The place to beThe city of Venice

AddendumInvisible Beauty - Iraq’s Pavilion at Venice Biennale

11 PhotographyMahtab Hussain

HeritageQajar Khatamkari

12 One to OneMounir Farmanfarmaian

Feature

14 Gaza - the suffering goes onGazans are left to face their own fate af-ter the devastating effects of war on this already troubled land says Nehad Khanfar

Cover

18 The Qur’anic Revelation and its Judaeo-Christian milieu of origin Sampling the scriptures of Judaism, Chris-tianity and Islam Derk Hartwig points out how the Islamic faith came to re-evaluate religious universalism by addressing all of humanity

Faith

22 Tolerance in Islam exemplified by the Prophet Islamic teaching finds its sources in the Qur’an and traditions of the Prophet. Aliya Azam examines the concept of tolerance in the light of his examples

26 The spiritual significance of the last nights of RamadhanJulia Khadija Lafene summarises some of the inner practices we can follow during Ramadhan, in particular during the last ten nights

Interfaith

30 Vasco da Gama, a great navigator but a flawed human beingThe Da Gama Era begun in 1497 brought great riches to Europe but the colonised people were never asked if they fancied be-ing taken over, says Frank Gelli

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Places

34 Robert Edward Hart’s intriguing collection of Islamic manuscriptsIslamic art has attracted European collec-tors throughout the ages. Cleo Cantone shines the light on the Islamic artefacts collected by Robert Edward Hart (1878-1946)

Health

38 Mother’s milk: a real treasureBreastfeeding is highly recommended in Islam. Its benefits are now also universally recognised, says Laleh Lohrasbi

What & Where

42 Listings and Events

Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy Qur’an - Islamic Centre of England

Al-Asr annual short vacation course to Iraq & Iran

The prince and the pir – The British Museum

Woolf Institute at the Vitality British 10k Run

Texts to Live by; Love & Compassion

Decolonising the Mind: Summer School

The Fifth International Conference on Quranic Studies

Tawheed Summer Camp

Shubbak Literature Festival Weekend Pass

The Muslim Lifestyle Expo 2015

Embrace 2015 at Tobacco Dock

Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies

The fourth Islam and Bioethics International Conference

Skydive 2015

Ben-Nevis Challenge 2015

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) stands for the Arabic phrase ‘alayhis-salaam, ‘alayhas-salaam (feminine) and ‘alayhimus-salaam (plural)

meaning respectively: (God’s) Peace be with him/ her/ or them.

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In 1965, under the direction of Pope Paul VI, the Second Vatican Council made historic changes to the Church’s policies and theology.

These changes were crystallised in a document known as Nostra Aetate, Latin for ‘In Our Time,’ a document that revolutionised the Catholic Church’s approach towards other religions. For the first time it acknowledged the possi-bility that other religions ‘reflect rays of that Truth which enlightens all men’. In this document the Catholic Church attempted to introduce new terms for dialogue with specific references to Judaism and Islam. The church was attempting to redress a centuries-long painful relationship.

The Nostra Aetate was an open call to the Church to dialogue with other world religions from a premise of an acknowl-edged existence of common grounds especially in relation to the other monotheistic faiths of the Abrahamic branch; Judaism and Islam. In relation to Islam we read:

‘The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheart-edly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honour Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addi-

tion, they await the Day of Judgment when God will render their desserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.

As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock’.

This was a logical step for the Church if it wanted to engage in a meaningful dialogue.

Christianity is chronologically placed in the middle between Judaism which precedes it and Islam which follows it. For centuries the veracity of Christianity in relation to both Judaism and Islam was based on the rejection of the Jews, blamed for the involvement in the killing of Jesus(a) and of Islam seen originally as an apostasy from Chris-tianity. As a result any dialogue with peoples holding such views would have been meaningless.

Of the three monotheistic religions Islam is the most favourably posi-tioned for dialogue since it contains no outright rejection of Judaism nor

Christianity; it considers them religions of the People of the Book, a term used by the Qur’an to describe the religions of those communities to whom a ‘Book’ was given by God (Torah to Moses(a), Zabur to David(a), Evangel to Jesus(a) and Qur’an to Muhammad(s)).

Dirk Hartwig, in this issue’s cover article, analyses the milieu of the Quranic revelation, highlighting the marked transformation in the character of reve-lations between previous scriptures and the Qur’an. While essentially the moral and ethical aspect of its teaching is the same, the Qur’an has to reflect its status as the final revelation and as such it has to address not a specific community but humanity at large. It transcends lands and ethnicities abrogating any concept of superiority or claimed closeness to God based on race.

The Qur’an represents the final evolu-tion of a Divine Message that has taken different forms throughout human history.

As Dirk Hartwing points out the ‘Qur’an emerges as a unique voice in the interpretive milieu that can no longer be seen as an insufficient replica of the Bible’. There is no attempt to emulate previous scriptures but rather to compliment them and in doing so open a new chapter of communication between humanity and its Creator.

Evolving

Revelation

EditorFrom the

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I take off at every opportunity I can, be it with family, friends or alone, exploring, photographing and documenting interesting stuff in

exotic destinations and taking the odd selfie to make friends jealous along the way. But as a Muslim travel Writer living in challenging times, I’ve come to see travel in a completely different light, as an education and spiritually trans-formative experience. I also now under-stand why travel is encouraged by Islam. But what I don’t understand is the lack of Muslims willing to travel. And before you bombard me with your messages and selfies from Dubai and Sharm, let’s make clear that a package holiday in a touristic location where all your expec-tations and creature comforts are met is not ‘travel’. That would be a holiday. I believe all Muslims should really travel, the proper independent stuff and here are eleven reasons why.

The Hajj or Umrah

Travel is integral to many ‘spiritual’ aspects of Islam. Most notably the pilgrimage of Hajj is one of the five fundamental pillars of the faith. Then there is also the recommended lesser pilgrimage, the Umrah. Both require Muslims to travel to Makkah, a journey that is viewed as much a transformative experience as the actual pilgrimage itself – something Muslim traveller Ibn Battuta and even Victorian explorer Richard Burton wrote about in their memoirs. The Hajj and Umrah also involve numerous rituals of motion and travel, such as the tawafs (initial and farewell circumambulations) around the Kaaba, the walk between Saf’a and Marwah, and the journeys to Mina, Mount Arafat and Muzdalifah. Each of these requires the pilgrim to meditate and reflect whilst moving.

The Prophet

Travel was openly encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad(s) who, amongst other things, saw it as an essential way to seek knowledge. Preserved narra-tions such as the oft-cited ‘seek knowl-edge even unto China’ support this.

of the The

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The Prophet also experienced highly spiritual journeys himself such as the mystical ‘night journey’ or Meraj. Finally, many of the Prophet’s formative years were spent travelling with his family’s business caravans.

A travelling tradition

Muslims come from a long line of famous travellers transformed irreversibly by their experiences. This includes the world’s most travelled man, Ibn Battuta, who was born in Tangier, Morocco and travelled for 30 years after setting off for the Hajj aged only 21 (one might say he was the first ‘gap’ year student).

Muslim scholars such as al-Bukhari also deemed it important to travel and often covered great distances to acquire knowledge. Finally there are many prophets who embarked on monumental spiritual journeys that transformed their character and

strengthened their inner resolve. The most famous of these is Musa’s journey (Moses) alongside al-Khidr.

The spirituality of Travel

“Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller along a path” - this is a popular hadith about attachment to the material world and it is therefore no surprise that every spiritual tradition in Islam (and most other faiths) incorpo-rates ‘wandering’ or ‘travel’ as part of the soul’s training. The wisdom behind this is to encourage detachment from the dunya (material world), and thereby develop a greater appreciation of the hereafter.

Love of God

Through travel we get to know God better, it’s that simple. I have had some of my most spiritual moments staring out across a mountain range, a desert,

lake, or even just humanity going about its daily existence. Travel makes the familiar unfamiliar to us and in doing so we come to better appreciate God’s creation. Throughout the Quran, man is asked to reflect on what has been created on earth and in the heavens – what better way to do that than through travel?

The death of ignorance and birth of humility

Nothing quite extinguishes ignorance like real life experiences. In an increas-ingly global world saturated by media, we find it easy to sit on one side of the world and judge people on the other. Using video, news articles and pictures it is easy to arrogantly believe we know a people or a place just by how they have been represented in the media. Travelling to places we have judged or thought we knew teaches us just how wrong we can be. Travel makes us see that actually we know very little.

Know thyself

Talk to anyone who has ‘travelled’, especially solo travellers and you will be blown away by their self-confidence, open-mindedness and how well they

Be it for pilgrimage or for searching knowledge,

Muslims have a long record of traveling. Tharik

Hussain reminds us why we should keep up this

edifying activity and travel the world

Travel believers

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seem to know themselves. Travel creates a better you, because it takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to ask questions about who you are, why you are and what you are. Travel allows

you to cross examine yourself without the expectations of society, culture, reli-gion and family. Those who have done this will tell you that nothing is more liberating than having only your own

expectations. But be aware this can be quite scary the first time as you might suddenly realise that actually you don’t have that many expectations of your own.

Experience something ‘new’

The world is an amazing place full of amazing experiences waiting to be had. To not enjoy some of these whilst you’re here seems such a waste. In an age where travel is becoming increasingly cheap and methods of income ‘on the road’ to fund those travels increasingly flexible, few excuses remain to not go and see the world at least once. Those who don’t will never see a sunrise over an ancient man-made masterpiece like Macchu Picchu; they won’t ever listen to the silence of a natural wonder like the Sahara desert; nor will they taste the sweetness of a star fruit freshly shaken from its tree by Bangladeshi village children.

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Appreciate what and who you have

We always take our parents, brothers, sisters and homes for granted, but spend a few months on the road and then taste your mother’s home cooking or listen to your father’s tedious stories of past. Come back after a month Euro-railing and see if your sister is actually as annoying as you thought or your older brother as overbearing as he seemed. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ they say, but what that really means is you finally see what God has blessed you with.

Regain your faith in humanity

One day I am going to write a book about the kindness of strangers on my travels for those who were also born into a ‘world’ that seemed difficult to trust. It was travel that restored my faith in humanity.

From the gypsies in the hills of Tuscany who drove my family and I up a moun-tain to catch the last bus, to Omar, the Turkish man who we fell in love with after he spontaneously took us on a road trip through rural Turkey, I have had beautiful encounters with strangers all over the world and come to realise

that actually people are amazing. I now know that the vast majority of human beings in the world are caring, wonderful and respectful people – the very embodiment of what it means to be ‘human’.

Islamic history

There is so much Islamic history just waiting to be unearthed by travelling. I am on my own journey doing just that and have already posted previously unheard tales about Europe’s forgotten Muslim heritage, like the Latin island where the lingua franca is Arabic or the story of the Christian boy who grew up to rule the Ottoman empire. By travel-ling to places significant in Islamic history, whether it be Madina or Cordoba in Spain, we come closer to our roots, our past and our heritage. It is only by knowing where we came from that we can truly know where we are travelling to.

Tharik Hussain is a Travel Writer & Pho-tographer. He is also a Media & Sociology Teacher

web:tharikhussain.co.uk

Iraq’s National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

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With the biennale creating a buzz throughout the city this summer. Venice certainly is the place to be. Artists from all over the world will be presenting work curated by world renowned art professionals on specific themes and incorporating large scale installations. In particular, Iraq will be presenting work as well as the New Art Exchange under

the #EM15 (it’s the first time the East Midlands will be represented) involving Tasawar Bashir as creative project director. The exhibition is open to the public until Sunday 26th July 2015.

The 56th International Art Exhibition takes place in various locations across the city of Venice including the Giardini and the Arsenale. The RUYA founda-tion is an Iraq-based organisation which promotes contemporary culture from Iraq. The foundation has commis-sioned the exhibition Invisible Beauty, for the Iraq Pavilion at the Biennale this summer. Invisible Beauty features five contemporary artists from across Iraq and the diaspora: two generations of Iraqi photographers Latif Al-Ani and Akam Shex Hadi, performance artist Rabab Ghazoul, ceramicist and sculptor Salam Atta Sabri and painter Haider

Jabbar. Over 500 drawings made by refugees in northern Iraq will also be on display. The title Invisible Beauty refers both to the unusual or unexpected subjects in the work that will be on display, as well as to the invisibility of Iraqi artists on the international stage. The exhibition reveals art generated by a country that has been subjected to war, genocide and the violation of human rights. The systematic demoli-tion of the cultural heritage of Iraq has made it more important than ever to focus on artists continuing to work in the country.

The exhibition runs until Sunday 22nd November 2015

“Some days you want to be in the world, but can’t quite seemingly be part of its cruelty and injustices. Crowded with strangers, you look for external archi-tectures of solace that must have been so prevalent in the ages of the past.

Now long gone, you turn instead to the only place where there is a slim chance of obtaining a temporary reprieve, your prayers. “- Tasawar Bashir

Tasawar Bashir is an incredibly understated individual. An artist and creative project director, Bashir produced work for the Venice biennale in 2012. An architecture graduate with an immense love of film and the arts, Bashir currently works with the New Art Exchange in Nottingham and Sampad, a development agency for South Asian Arts based in Birmingham.

During the 90’s Bashir worked for Cinephilia, a niche cinema for avant-garde filmgoers as well as BBC Radio and Channel Four. He went on to became Head of Cinema at MAC in Birmingham, where he developed inter-national Film Festivals in collaboration with the BFI. By 2002 he was Head of Cultural Projects for the Birmingham European Capital of Culture bid team.

For the last decade, Bashir has been involved in a series of collaborations with Indian composer AR Rahman. He has also made short films, scripts, music videos, and photographic projects that examine crime, gang-related violence, inner-city identity and affiliation amongst young people. In his own work, Bashir explores notions of the sacred using modern technology, public data sets and software algorithms. He also conducts art-based experiments to design contemporary mosques.

Exploring the relationship between sound and space, Bashir draws on his time spent manning a cinema and enjoying the marriage of sound within a specified space.

In 2012 his work was exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, which involved gallery-based works commenting on our collective responses towards the idea and the reality of God. Bashir’s current work investigates the concept of sacred sound.

SoundTasawar Bashir

The Place to BeThe city of Venice and Venice Biennale

Addendum Invisible Beauty - Iraq’s Pavilion

Art Editor Moriam Grillo

A Qajar Khatamkari mirror case and a matching mirror AH 1245Dimensions: 10.8 x 28 x 37.8cm

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“The West’s loss of sincerity towards community is having a direct impact on cultural heritage. It is not these young men who are in crisis per sé; they are simply a metaphor for the crisis of British society as a whole.” - Mahtab Hussain

‘You Get Me’ is a photographic exhibi-tion which took four years to complete. It documents the lives of young Muslim men in Birmingham, exploring their changing identity and the evolution of British culture.

Each subject was born into a Thatch-erite Britain promoting the idea of no society in favour of the individual.

Hussain believes the emphasis placed upon the individual in Britain since the 1980’s is in direct conflict with the lives and heritage of this youth which are firmly rooted in the concept of a collective society. But these young British Muslims live in a dichotomous vacuum, on the one hand wishing to be westernised and accepted and on the other struggling to maintain the balance of living within a community which is often insular and inherently seen to avoid integration with society at large. Hussain’s portraits are incredibly straightforward, placing emphasis on the sitter and not the artist in order to celebrate the individual. And he believes portraits ‘force a vital interac-tion between the sitter and viewer.’

But there is a hidden depth to Hussain’s work, which beyond the cultural influ-

ences and existential prowess, paints a picture of hopelessness within a community brought about through segregation, racial subordination and a resulting trend of failure in education and employment.

Hussain says that this is because anger held by the community towards wider society has imploded giving rise to internal tensions, such as territorial postcode wars and violence against non-Muslims and Muslims alike. The result is a crisis of personal identity, fuelled by simplistic ideologies offered in Western media. Hussain hopes his work will go far to highlight the profound complexi-ties surrounding personal identity and the ongoing evolution of urban culture and create a powerful metaphor addressing the intricacies of Western, multicultural society on a wider level.

Mirror case signed by Muhammad Baqir, Iran. With floral decoration painted on paper and placed under the glass, the front drawer contains small compartments.

Agha Mohammad Khan established the Qajar dynasty from 1781 – 1925, having defeated numerous rivals and bringing the whole of Iran under his rule. Qajar art is characterised by a strong style

and a vivid use of colour.

Photography Mahtab Hussain

Heritage

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“Inspired by her childhood in Qazvin, these mirror mosaics were used to decorate interiors of Iranian homes in a style which dates back to the sixteenth century. At that time, large mirrors were shipped from Venice to Iran, but many of these shipments arrived with the mirrors broken into small pieces. The Iranians didn’t want to throw away the precious pieces, so they put the

fragments in plaster, and used them for decoration.” - Curator Taymour Grahne

Mounir Farmanfarmaian studied Fine Art at Tehran University. Born in Qazvin, Iran in 1924, Farmanfarmaian initially wanted to study in Paris, but the advent of war meant she would remain in Iran and study there. After the war, Farmanfarmaian continued her studies

in New York, before returning to Iran where she now works and lives. Her work embraces the mystical qualities of Islamic art and creates a space for it in contemporary art where the language is understood and its beauty appreciated.

Her practice, namely in mirror mosaic and reverse-painted glass, is a creative marriage of the cosmic patterning of

One to One Mounir Farmanfarmaian

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her Iranian heritage and the style of modern Western geometric abstraction. She is also renowned for her paintings, drawing and collage.

Farmanfarmaian is very unique and unlike any artist I have featured on these pages. Her artwork has made history by becoming a prominent part of American social culture, featuring in several public spaces including hotels and department stores, as well as decorating the humble paper bag. Farmanfarmaian has not only bridged the fissure that often stands between art that speaks the language of the East and the art of the West. She has also afforded herself a place in American art history through the relationships she has made with prominent artists that have set the standard for contemporary art in the West.

An exhibition of her mirror works and drawings spanning the latter part of her career, is being shown at the Guggen-heim museum in New York. Entitled: Infinite Possibility, Mirror Works and Drawings, 1974-2014, it marks the first major US outing of her work, reflecting the Guggenheim’s historical commit-ment to abstraction and the transna-tional nature of her artistic perspective.

What follows is a short interview with Farmanfarmaian about her career and current exhibition.

What is the inspiration behind your work?

My work is largely based on geometry, which, as you know, always begins with a single point and can move from there into a circle. Or a point can become three leading to a triangle, or four to a square, five to a pentagon, hexagon, octagon, and so on-it’s endless. I was

inspired by the geometry I found in old mosques with their tile, metal, wood, and plaster work. A master metalworker that I studied with once told me, ‘Everything is in geometry.’ I then found out that with a hexagon you could do so much. And today, I still work on geometry-it’s at the base of my art because it has an infinite amount of possibilities. You can create thousands and thousands of designs in textiles, metal, tiles, everything.

You started your mirror work after returning to Iran in 1957. What is the meaning behind this work?

Cosmic geometry. Look. It is like everything is moving. The surface is reflecting things and sometimes you don’t know where these reflections are coming from. You communicate with the art as you stand in front of it.

You work in so many different mediums, with the drawings, memory boxes and collages. Is there one you enjoy more?

The mirror boxes with geometry. There is symbolism in the hexagon, and the infinity of a circle. The triangle is human consciousness; the square is north, south, west and east; the pentagon is the five senses: hearing, smelling, seeing, taste and touch.

Your own work for [department store] Bonwit Teller — the sketch of violets — became iconic. The company used it for its shopping bags and advertising for years.

After studying at Parsons, I got a job through a classmate of mine at Bonwit Teller. I met the head of the art depart-ment, and they hired me for eighty dollars a week. I used to also do free-lance work for them, drawing a bottle of perfume, slippers, or a bag. And one

agent liked this small sketch of mine which was of violets. He bought it for $150 and I was very pleased.

What has been your biggest lesson?

These recent shows have been a remark-able time in my life because for so long I was really a nobody. Little by little, I’ve become…I don’t know…better known? Certainly the Guggenheim wasn’t giving me a show until now.

[I was doing commercial art] some people said, ‘Your artwork is so highly beautiful, we cannot use it’. Others said, ‘No, no. It’s so bad. We cannot use it.’ Not to be disappointed in life, to go ahead with your art. I had so much tragedy, but I kept working.

A book of her work Infinite Possibility. Mirror Works and Drawings, 1974-2014 is available to buy

[Interview extracts are courtesy of Artforum and WWD.com]

Moriam Grillo is an international artist. She holds Bachelor degrees in Photography & Film and Ceramics, her current projects include a commission for the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham.

Feature

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Almost a year after the latest destructive war on Gaza, tens of thousands of Gazans are left with no proper access to

basic supplies and remain homeless.

Many have taken refuge in the rubble of their houses to provide some kind of roof over their heads. Families had been forced to endure the harshness of the cold weather. According to the United

Nations, children have died of the cold and lack of medication.

The dreams of many children have been erased from their minds in the same way that their houses and neighbourhoods

©Eman Mohammad©Em©Eman an MoMo©©©Em©EmEmEmaammananan an MoMoMoMohh ddohohaahhaaamammmmmaammadadadad ©Eman Mohammad

‘Gaza’the suffering goes on

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were wiped off the map. Tens of thou-sands of pupils face serious difficulties securing an education as their schools are either used as accommodation for homeless families or were reduced to rubble by Israeli air strikes. Conditions in Gaza have made people much more miserable than they have ever been. People feel powerless, hopeless and see

no light at the end of the tunnel.

Although Gaza has long been under Israeli siege - making access to elec-tricity, clean water, and proper medica-tion very limited - last year’s invasion has made the situation much more difficult and complicated. The war has left many people, especially children, completely traumatised. More people

are forced to live under the poverty line as they have lost their businesses and sources of income. Many agricultural lands and farming areas lie completely destroyed and are now unusable.

More restrictions now apply to busi-nesses. Factories are prevented from importing raw materials, machinery or spare parts. Repairing what they already have is ‘prohibited for security reasons’. Businesses which took decades to build have vanished in seconds. They are not able to market or sell their goods, even in their own markets in the West Banks. The salaries of those still in employment remain unpaid and the rate of unem-ployment is growing rapidly leaving more young people empty handed. There is an atmosphere of hopelessness and lack of purpose among the youth who feel they can’t provide for their families. Many youngsters are reconsidering their livelihoods in Gaza and have decided to leave their homeland in pursuit of a better life and work opportunities. Many have tried to find their way out

with human traffickers by sea. Some succeeded while many others drowned. Since last year’s invasion people’s movement has become almost impos-sible. Families who are split between Gaza and the West Bank (including husbands and wives who work and live between these places) are not allowed to meet each other. And that is not all; the restrictions apply to movement and activities of journalists, medical and health staff. Today Gaza exists an utter isolation.

The war has increased hatred of Israel. Gazan people have lost any trust in

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The war left Gaza’s teens with no option, choice

They feel they are in an open-air jail, prisoners

in their own land.

©Eman Mohammad©Em©Eman an MohMohammammadad©©©Em©EmEmEmaammananan an MoMoMoMoohohaahhamamamammmmmaammadadadad ©Eman Mohammad

atrocity against the people of

Gaza, Nehad Khanfar looks at

the devastating consequences

they have to face every day

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©Eman Mohammad©Em©Eman an MohMohammammadad©©©Em©EmEmEmaammananan an MoMoMoMoohohaahhaaamammmmmaammadadadad ©Eman Mohammad

©Eman Mohammad©Em©Eman an MohMohammamm dd©©©Em©EmEmEmaammananan an MoMoMoMoohohaahhaaamammmmmaammadadadad ©Eman Mohammad

©Eman Mohammad©Em©Eman an MohMohammammadad©©©Em©EmEmEmaammananan an MoMoMoMoohohaahhamamamammmmmaammadadadad ©Eman Mohammad

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the international community believing it has left them to face Israeli brutality on their own. The war left Gaza’s teens with no option, choice or dream but to fight against Israeli oppression. They feel they are in an open-air jail, pris-oners in their own land. Israeli guards stop Gazan students from studying at universities outside the Gaza area. It is a systemic method of killing and destroying the hopes and dreams of a nation. This action can only be considered as a systematic strategy to target the next generation of Gazans and to prevent any hope of this nation to be able to one day have flourishing, educated and motivated young people who could rebuild their country. Gaza is witnessing a slow soul-destroying, demotivating and systematic cleansing.

The removal of the huge mountains

of rubble has not started yet, so the rebuilding cannot begin. This has given Gazans the impression that another war is coming, maybe sooner than expected. Death and desperation surround them wherever they look. Gaza is still in real crisis with no exit. It is a kind of trap continuously deepening every day. The world is giving Gaza no choice but to be digested underground or swallowed

by the sea, achieving the explicitly expressed dream of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli prime minister.

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The dreams of many children have been erased from their minds

in the same way that their houses and neighbourhoods were

wiped off the map.

Dr Nehad Khanfar is a lecturer in Islamic Financial/Banking Contracts and Comparative Contract Law at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies in London

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The Muslim scholar, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505), elab-orates on the most central contents of the Qur’an in

his celebrated work ‘Thorough Mastery of the Qur’anic Sciences’ and arrives at the convincing conclusion that the Quranic message circles around three major topics:

1) Declaration of God’s unity, a formula already attested in the Qur’anic text (e.g. 37:35)

2) Tales of former prophets and respective covenants between God and mankind (3:81),

3) Legal regulations, imprint of the moral code of the prophetic religion (2:163-283)

The scholar points here to the unique character of Qur’anic revelation. Its texts do not present a continuous narrative of the past, only exempla of salvation history, but early on focus on the near future, the imminent Day of Judgment (e.g. 21:1 or 33:63).

As such, the three aspects of the Qur’an are, moreover, essential features characterising the successive steps in the emergence of the new community of believers that goes parallel with the proclamation of the Qur’an over some 23 years, stretching from the earliest revelation in ‘Recite’ (96:1) to the latest revelation in ‘This day have I perfected your religion’ (5:3). Al-Suyuti, could have also easily observed the dramatic

shifts between themes. So it could be said that the emphasis on eschatology of the earlier Makkan period shifted, in Muhammad’s later years in Madina, to the organisation of the newly emerged community by means of legislation.

The knowledge of the unity of God (tawhid), who makes himself known through his creation and through his revelation, is certainly one of the most central topics in the Qur’an, and so one finds not only general remarks about the omnipotence of God, but a more concrete declaration of faith that according to traditional Muslim belief equals one third of the Qur’an. “Say, ‘He is God, the One. God is the All-embracing. He neither begat,

Revelation and its Judaeo-Christian milieThe Qur’anic

19

nor was begotten, nor has He any equal.”(112:1-4)

For Jews and Christian this passage is of utmost significance, as they find their respective faith proclamations confirmed and/or rejected. It is obvious that the Christian doctrine of Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of God, one-in-being with the Father’ is rejected. But one thing is rhetori-cally confirmed, often gone unnoticed, namely the absolute oneness of God, being in concord with the first line of the Jewish Shema prayer (Deuteronomy 6:4) - an affirmation of the Jewish faith

and a declaration of God’s unity. It constitutes a basic confession of faith, declaring that the God - who identified

himself as “I Am Who I Am” (Exodus 3:14), the eternally unchanging Being beyond comprehension is One; and that

He alone is God who was, is, and will be.

The key word ‘One’ (112:1), ehad/ahad, a still audible quotation, exposes the

difference between the Jewish creed and the firm belief of the new community. By replacing the address ‘Hear, O…’ specifying a particular group in the pool of humanity, with the undetermined ‘Say’ clearly attests that the Qur’anic text addresses all human beings, in short: tribal and national belonging was

transferred into a universal faith; “[O Prophet], We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations.” (21:107)

The knowledge of the unity of God (tawhid),

who makes himself known through his creation

and through his revelation, is certainly one of

the most central topics in the Qur’an…

eu of origin

Dirk Hartwig highlights

to negotiate new terms addressing the whole of humanity rather

20

In accordance with the setting, into which the Qur’an was revealed - the Qur’an was addressed to people living within a culturally diverse background infused with pagan and monotheistic traditions of Judaism and/or Christianity alike - the Qur’an sees God in contrast, not to say in total opposi-tion, to man. This is the basis for a moralistic world order where no action goes unrewarded: man who is on the right path and man who has been misguided. Consequently God’s wrath, the anthological counterpart to Divine mercy is recorded in the examples of the past or the stories of the ‘vanished people’, who have received Divine

guidance before, but have denied the prophets, and have been subject to God’s judgement. The Qur’an refers

explicitly to the covenant with Adam (20:115) and covenants with the ‘people of the book’, the Jews (2:83 & 3:154) and the Christians (5:14). Muhammad

himself is accepted into a covenant (33:7 & 3:81), placing him in direct succession with Noah, Abraham, Moses

and Jesus, son of Mary.

In logical consequence Muhammad is placed at the end of the prophetic line as the ‘Seal of the Prophets’ (33:40). Following this new consciousness, one encounters, an ongoing criticism of the Children of Israel. At the very numer-ical centre of al-Baqarah, the new community is called a ‘just community’ (2:143), indirectly rejecting

the idea of the Biblical notion of God’s ‘treasured people,’ a word denoting the special position of Israel in its relationship to God as his elect people.

…the Qur’an emerges as a unique voice in

the interpretive milieu that can no longer be

the product of a confused impostor, but must

be acknowledged as a theologically most

21

(Deuteronomy 14:12)

Likewise the New Testament contem-plates the old idea of God’s ‘treasured possession,’ as Jesus Christ has purchased this treasure with his own blood, his pleasant sacrifice. The atone-ment fulfils his end of the bargain, offering the new House of Israel protection and mercy, purification and sanctification. They, however, must accept the sacrifice and fulfil in turn the commandments associated with it (1 Peter 2:9): “… you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

As we have seen before and as we have seen now the Qur’an is refuting the Judaeo - Christian notion of election, and is, thus, universalising the new message of the Qur’an and declaring a

new community, open to all humanity: “And thus we have made you a just community …” (2:143)

After Moses, and with him the covenant of Sinai, i.e. the Torah is disqualified; the new community traces its origins from now on back to the biblical patriarch Abraham and awards him the status of a monotheist (hanif) who was neither Jew nor Christian (3:67). In this light while Muhammad brings the Divine message to a people living within a milieu heavily infused with narratives of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Qur’an is addressed to ‘unscriptured people’ (3:20, 3:75) and in clear Arabic language, so that they may understand (26:195).

Consequently, the new revelation, replaces the covenant given to Moses at Sinai (Exodus 19-20; Q 7:171-174); and finally the ‘People of the Book’ are accused of having distorted the divine message (tahrif) (e.g. 2:75, 174). This polemical attack finds its peak in Qur’an (4:46): “Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their meanings and say, ‘We hear and disobey’ and ‘Hear without listening!’ and ‘Listen to us!’ twisting their tongues and reviling the faith. But had they said, ‘We hear and obey’ and ‘Listen’ and ‘Look at us’ it would have been better for them and more upright. But God has cursed them for their faithlessness, so they will not believe except a few.”

The message is no longer offered to the Israelites alone, but to all humanity, who in pre-existence accepted the offered covenant. So they answer with a clear: “Yes, verily. We testify”. Once the Children of Israel as ‘treasured people’ are disqualified, Muhammad becomes God’s ‘chosen’ (2:252), like the biblical prophets before him, and his followers become the new Divine community, the object of God’s plan of salvation. The legislation of the new community is given its fullest form in the Qur’an (2:163-242), including the regulations concerning dietary laws, fasting and the pilgrimage to Makkah (hajj); and thus, subsequently the Qur’an turns into the book of guidance, “whereof there is no doubt...” (2:2).

It is through the inimitable Message of the Qur’an that the One God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam made himself known once again and for all - as an often quoted prophetic tradition, or ‘hadith qudsi’, that is not by all scholars accepted to be an authentic report of a non-Quranic word of God, frames this in most beautiful words: “I was a hidden treasure, I loved to be known. Therefore, I created the creation so that I would be known.”

However, it is through the verses of the Qur’an that the human recognises God’s unity and in consequence realises that he/she is object to His terribly just judgement: “And do not invoke another god besides God; there is no god except Him. Everything is to perish except His Face. All judgement belongs to Him, and to Him you will be brought back. (28:88).

Read as an authentic textual witness documenting the formation of a commu-nity in negotiation and/or competition with the diverse Jewish and Christian traditions, the Qur’an emerges as a unique voice in the interpretive milieu that can no longer be seen as an insuf-ficient replica of the Bible, the product of a confused impostor, but must be acknowledged as a theologically most challenging text; a text that emerges as a response to the debates prevalent in the Arabian peninsula, finally claiming its own place in the midst of the already existing Jewish and Christian tradi-tions. As such the Qur’an becomes not only visible as the universal message addressed to all humanity, but as the literary witness of complex processes of negotiation concerning covenant, prophethood, legislation, and redemp-tion.

Dirk Hartwig studied Arabic Language and Literature, Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Iranian Studies in Berlin, Jerusalem, New York and Cai-ro. He is currently research fellow at the Department of Arabic and Persian at the University of St. Andrews.

22

Hamilton Gibb wrote about Islam’s unique success ‘in uniting, in an

equality of status, of oppor-tunity, and of endeavour, so many and so various races of humanity.’ Bernard Lewis makes the same point, adding that, in a context of religious plurality, the crucial verse ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (Qur’an 2:256) enjoins tolerance and forbids the use of force in matters concerning religious faith; he provides this useful starting-point for any discussion of the practice of tolerance in the Islamic tradition.

Tim Winter writes: ‘No pre-modern civi-lisation embraced more cultures than that of Islam ... [this fact] demonstrates the divine purpose that this Ishmaelite covenant is to bring a monotheism that uplifts, rather than devastates, cultures.’

The Muslim attitude towards human beings is essentially defined by the Qur’anic doctrine of the fitra, the primordial, inalienable substance

of humanity: ‘So set your purpose for religion as one by nature upright: the fitra of God, that according to which He created man’ (30:30). In the verse (49:13), ‘O mankind,

We have created you male and female, and We have made you into tribes and nations in order that you might come to know one another. Truly, in the sight of God, the most honoured amongst you is the most pious amongst you’, ‘you’ implies the absolute equality of all believers, the sole permissible hierarchy within humanity being that based on intrinsic piety, not on such extrinsic

tolerance thrives on knowledge. When one

knows through revelation that religious

diversity is divinely willed, such knowledge

inspires tolerance as a spiritual, and not just

an ethical imperative.

Tolerance in Islam exemplified

Prophet by the

23

factors as gender, tribe, nation, race or religion. Given this view of equality on the human plane, coupled with the Islamic doctrine of universal and cyclical revelation - according to which no community is deprived of authentic divine revelation and guidance - intoler-ance of the Other is reprehensible on both the moral and spiritual planes, and is not just prohibited on the legal plane. Intolerance feeds on ignorance, while tolerance thrives on knowledge. When one knows through revelation that reli-gious diversity is divinely willed, such knowledge inspires tolerance as a spir-itual, and not just an ethical imperative.

Followers of other faiths are granted respectful tolerance, and the source of their faith is granted reverence, in the measure that one knows or simply believes that God alone is the source of the revelations inaugurating the religious traditions of the non-Muslim Other. One cannot but grant respectful tolerance to fellow believers when one knows or believes that what these non-Muslim fellow believers worship is nothing other than the one and only God.

This led to the practice of political and religious tolerance even by those who may have only partially assimilated

the sacred knowledge on the basis of which the Other is both respectfully tolerated and spiritually appreciated. An expression of what this sacred knowledge entails in practice is given to us in the following well-attested episode in the life of the Prophet. In the ninth year after the Hijra (631), a prominent Christian delegation from Najran, an important centre of Christianity in the Yemen, came to engage the Prophet in theological debate in Madina. The main point of contention was the nature of Christ: was he one of the messengers of God or the unique Son of God? The importance of this meeting is not in the discussion but the worship conducted by the Christians in the midst of these discussions. When the Christians expressed their desire to pray the Prophet invited them to accomplish their rites in his own mosque. According to Ibn Ishaq, the Christians in ques-tion were ‘Maliki’, those affiliated to the Byzantine Church and this meant that they were enacting some form of the rites which incorporated the fully-developed Trinitarian theology of the Orthodox councils, doctrines explicitly criticised in the Qur’an. Nonetheless, the Prophet allowed the Christians to perform their rites in the mosque. Disa-greement on the plane of dogma is one thing; tolerance - indeed encourage-ment - of the enactment of that dogma is another. It may be argued that the Prophet’s allowance of the Christians to pray in his mosque was not so much an act of religious tolerance; rather, it was an act of political courtesy, a diplomatic gesture to the delegation of Najranis who were being encouraged to respect the rapidly expanding Islamic state. It shows how religious tolerance dove-tails with political wisdom according to the prophetic paradigm. It should be stressed that the Prophet did not propose any kind of compromise over the dogmas of the Incarnation or the Trinity.

The point which must be stressed here is that, despite fundamentally disagreeing with some of the definitive dogmas of Christianity, the Prophet allowed the Christians to perform their prayers in Islam’s most sacred spot,

Aliya Azam

the prophetic paradigm of impeccable virtue pertaining to

religious tolerance

24

thereby indicating at least two prin-ciples to his followers: however much we may disagree with the theological tenets of ‘People of the Book’ we are duty-bound to uphold their right to worship according to those tenets; we have no right to interfere with that worship, to undermine it, or to subject it to restrictive conditions. Secondly, we are being instructed that tolerance of the religious Other is an inherent principle of political propriety in Islam, and any deviation from that principle is a violation on both the religious and the political planes.

This act of the Prophet should not be seen in isolation but rather as one in a series of such symbolic acts which, more powerfully than words, uphold the inviolability of the religious rights of the Other and the necessity of exercising generosity and not just tolerance in regard to the Other. As Lings points out, another such act was the protection by the Prophet of the icon of the Virgin and Child in the Ka’ba. He instructed all idols within the holy house to be destroyed, but, according to at least two early historians, Waqidi and Azraqi, he himself protected this icon, not allowing it to be destroyed.

According to the thousand year old accounts of the monks of Mount Sinai they came across this young man and they were convinced of his great potential. These Christians, who were cut off from the more established Church appear to have been expecting the arrival of a Final Prophet, the parakletos (comforter, helper) whom Jesus had predicted would come after him (Bible. John 16:7-11) and may have interpreted this word as perikltos (praiseworthy one), Muhammad one of whose epithets, Ahmed means “praise-worthy”.

Also of relevance here is the charter, said to be sealed by the Prophet himself, granting protection to the monastery of St Catherine in Sinai. The charter states: ‘... on any mountain, hill, village, or other habitable place, on the sea or in the deserts or in any convent, church or house of prayer, I shall be watching over them as their protector, with all my soul, together with all my community; because they [the monks and hermits] are a part of my own people, and part of those protected by me.’ Also, most

significantly, the charter makes it incumbent on the Muslims not only to protect the monks, but also, in regard to Christians generally, to ‘consolidate their worship in their churches’. The well-attested invitation by the Prophet to the Najrani Christians to pray in the mosque is disputed by none in the tradi-tion, and this lends considerable plau-sibility to the Prophet’s charter to the monks and to his protection of the icon. In the contemporary world, all believers of monotheistic religions alike need to

tolerance thrives on knowledge. When one

knows through revelation that religious

diversity is divinely willed, such knowledge

inspires tolerance as a spiritual, and not just

an ethical imperative.

25

be reminded of this basic truth about Islam’s role in relation to diverse human cultures. It is a lesson which teaches all that deep commitment to the faith of Islam, far from implying any kind of ‘nationalist’ or chauvinistic sentiment, on the contrary causes human diversity to flourish; according to Islam’s all-inclusive vision, such principles as truth, virtue and holiness transcend all national, racial, ethnic—and, at the highest levels of thought, religious-boundaries. Therefore, any

contemporary effort to review or revive the integral tradition of tolerance in Islam should be focused first and foremost on the verses of the Qur’an, and the acts and deeds of the Prophet; standards of Muslim medieval toler-ance, while impressive and enlightened for their times, ought not constitute the yardstick— or the sole yardstick— by which contemporary Muslim tolerance or intolerance is judged. In fact other monotheistic religions can become a source of inspiration for the Muslim

who is sensitive to the deeper currents of the Qur’anic discourse on religion and religions.

Aliya Azam is a board member of REC. She holds a MA in Islamic Societies and Cultures from SOAS University and a PGCE from the Institute of Education.

26

The spiritual significance

Ramadhanof the last nights of

27

Most of us are aware of the basic rules and purpose of the Holy month of Rama-dhan. While we might

think of fasting as mainly physical, since it is a holistic prophetic practice and discipline, it is also psychological, emotional and spiritual. So our inner spiritual potential in Islam and our outer physical adherence to the prophetic way are interdependent. This is the middle way. This means that the outer practices of Ramadhan, while beneficial in themselves, must be combined with deeper spiritual practice and understanding in order to reap the full benefits and blessings of this special time.

The month of Ramadhan is usually divided into three parts of ten days each. In the first part it is recommended to establish the basic outer practices and understand their meaning: obedience to God’s laws & gratitude to Him for our sustenance; refraining from things which are haram (forbidden) or makruh (not recommended); experiencing & empathising with the deprivation of the poor and needy; strengthening moral behaviour & solidarity of Muslim family and society; improving one’s health and feeding the spirit by enjoying the bless-edness of the month! At this time one could also carry out a physical purifica-tion of the body through detoxification accompanied by de-cluttering of one’s house and possessions. ‘For everything there is a zakat and the zakat of the body is fasting.’ (Prophet Muhammad(s))Zakat is basically purification.

During the second period we continue with all these and begin mental de-clut-tering, that is breaking some of the bad habits of the nafs and replacing them with good habits. For example being impatient and quick to anger can be replaced with patience and forgiveness.

During the third period we continue all these but intensify our spiritual practice. We need to be consistent with outer practice in order to benefit spiritually. We all think we know the meaning of shirk, i.e. worshipping other gods than God, but at a deeper level shirk means worshipping ‘to be seen by

27

Julia Khadija Lafene summarises some of the

inner practices we can follow during Ramadhan,

in particular during the last ten nights

28

others’ and seeing an ultimate cause in anything other than God. It is said that fasting is for Him, meaning that other people need not know whether we are fasting or not. The Prophet(s) said that ‘In Ramadhan the gates of the garden are opened and the gates of the Fire are closed.’ Also said, ‘Everything has a door and the door to acts of Devotion is fasting’.

This means that God has given us Ramadhan as a special opportunity to receive openings from Him. Of course He is always there, but we put up veils and distractions between us and Him. To remove these veils as well as outer abstention, we practise ‘inner absten-tions’.

Restraining our thoughts from pre-occupation with base or worldly concerns.

Turning our thoughts and intellect towards contemplation of God’s attributes, and trying to cultivate those attributes in ourselves, for example, generosity, compassion, fair dealing.

Restraining our fantasies. We can use our power of imagination for good, for example, meditating on God’s light.

Trying to get rid of delusions and illusions, for example, the illusion of status, wealth, ownership, importance, and attachments.

Seeing God in everything – even what appears to be ‘bad’ has meanings and lessons for us.

Because we have more time when we are not eating and drinking and watching TV etc, God has given us space to practise these and gain the ultimate joy of His presence. We can reflect on the weaknesses of our Self

and ask ourselves questions like: what are my attachments? What do I love in my life other than God? After the ritual prayers, we can ask Him for guidance in changing our self, for example, ‘I am too attached to my control over my family/my wealth/ my status; help me to give this up by remembering God and taking practical action.’ If we sincerely practise these abstentions we are truly fasting and will achieve the state of the ‘tran-

quil soul’ (nafs al mutma’inna) when we are not possessed or controlled by the lower self.

The Night of the Decree (Laylat al Qadr) is espe-cially important for these inner

practices. On this night the Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet in totality. Scholars take this to refer to the inner revelation/meaning, as the outer was revealed over a period of time (17:106). We are recommended to spend a few days and nights in ‘Itikaf (retreat), in silence, leaving behind all our normal activities. Mobile phones especially are switched off! We eat very sparingly at Suhur (early breakfast) and Iftaar (breaking the fast), maintain silence, and try to stay awake during the night, as it is well known that most spiritual progress occurs late at night until dawn.

This is a night of great significance when creational energies are at their most powerful. ‘In it descends the Angels and the Spirit by permission of their Lord – empowered for every affair – Peace! It is until the break of dawn’. (97:5) The word for spirit – ruh

We all think we know the meaning of shirk,

i.e. worshipping other gods than God, but at a

deeper level shirk means worshipping ‘to be

seen by others’ and seeing an ultimate cause

in anything other than God.

©Mohammad Bagher Mireskandari

29

- is related to the word for ‘breeze’ or ‘breath of life’ which was breathed into us at our birth and gives us special spiritual renewal on this night. So if our hearts are pure and we are in our optimum state of trust, equilibrium and readiness we may receive the bless-ings of inner peace, tran-quillity and certainty, which we can build on during the rest of the year. Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani, a sage of the 10th century, described the benefits of Ramadhan as follows:

‘Fasting is a screen from the evils of this world and barrier from the punishment of the next. When you fast, make the intention to restrain yourself....purify your innermost from any impurity, distraction or darkness which cuts you

off from the meaning of allegiance to the fact of God the most High. Fasting eliminates the elements of the lower self and reduces the grip of desires. From it comes purity of heart and faculties, wellbeing of the inward and outward, gratitude for blessings, beneficence to the poor, increase in supplication to God, humility and weeping. Fasting is the rope of taking refuge in God and the cause of the breaking habits and

desires.... the benefits are immeasurable.’

Basically therefore, the true fast is not just abstention from food; the greatest spiritual benefits can only be received through practising the inner abstentions, which are intensified during the last ten days.

On [The Night of the Decree] the Holy Qur’an

was revealed to the Prophet in totality.

Scholars take this to refer to the inner

revelation, as the outer was revealed over a

period of time. We are recommended to spend

Julia Khadija Lafene graduated in Modern History from Oxford University. Since embracing Islam she has studied Islamic psychology and self-knowledge.

30

Vasco da Gama was the Portuguese navigator who first set off on three ships from Lisbon to India on July

8, 1497. He sailed around the Cape of Good Hope before crossing the Indian Ocean and arriving in the great trading

centre of Calicut, India, the following year. Da Gama thus became the symbol of a new era of seaborne European imperial ambition, based on trade but also on religion. It is important that he is also the hero of The Lusiads, the national poem of Portugal. It celebrates

the epic story of a people but also that of an extraordinary, if flawed, character.

Curiously, King Manuel of Portugal had given the explorer letters of introduc-tion to a Christian potentate called Prester John, a powerful mythical figure who was supposed to rule a vast empire

a great navigator buta flawed human being

Vasco da Gama,

The Da Gama era begun in 1497 brought great riches

to Europe but the colonised people were never asked

if they fancied being taken over, says Frank Gelli

31

somewhere in the Orient. The idea was to strike an alliance with Prester John in order to attack the Ottoman Turks from the rear, thus forcing them to fight on two fronts and so face defeat. In fact, Prester John never existed, unless the Mongols could be said to have been

one of his elusive manifestations. Of course, the Mongols were no Christians.

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to Sultan Mehmet II and the rising Turkish power in the Mediterranean had made it imperative for Europeans to find new commercial routes to the East. Spices

like pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, aloes, mace, ginger and so on were amongst the most coveted commodi-ties of Western man. They provided the seasoning and flavour vital to a rather boring diet. And spices were also used in medicine, being credited with many curative properties. Da Gama’s seafaring endeavours were to be richly rewarded because the spices he brought back from his travels sold for the highest prices.

The Lusiads is meant to be a Christian work. Indeed, the amazing scene of the opening verses is set in Heaven. Not quite a Christian Heaven, mind – it is the pagan Olympus in which the Greek gods are assembled in council: Zeus, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Bacchus. The poem will constantly show the god Bacchus as the ally of Muslims and as the sworn enemy of the Portuguese, while Venus, goddess of love, is on their side. A bit odd, because Bacchus of course is the deity of wine. How does that fit in with Islam? But it will not do to be too literalistic here. Although the poem contains plenty of history, it is chiefly a hagiographic work. Moreover, invoking the gods of the classical Pantheon was an accepted poetic licence.

After doubling the Cape, the Portuguese sailors found that the peoples they met followed Islam. Da Gama therefore thought it advisable to pretend being a Muslim but the Sultan of Mozambique was unconvinced. Above all, the paltry gifts the strangers brought included neither silver nor gold and the people reacted against the Portuguese. A similar negative reception followed in other places the ships touched. However in Malindi, da Gama secured the priceless services of an able pilot, essential to mastering the treacherous Monsoon winds. A tradition has it that the pilot was no less than the great Arab navigator Ibn Majid but that appears unlikely. Anyway, thanks partly to this clever pilot the Portuguese reached Calicut on 8 July.

The Hindu ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin, initially welcomed the strangers but, once again, the modest gifts offered caused disappointment and doubt.

32

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How could a Royal ambassador not bring any gold? Besides, rival Muslim merchants, obviously not enamoured of the competition, put it about that da Gama was not the official messenger from a king but a vulgar privateer. The Zamorin turned hostile and asked for money. Da Gama therefore seized a number of hostages and sailed off, loaded with spices, back to Portugal. By the time he reached Lisbon he had lost one of his ships and half of his men had succumbed to scurvy and other illnesses. Undeterred, King Manuel created him Count of Vidigueira and hailed him magnificently as ‘Lord of the Conquest, Navigation and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India’.

It should not be assumed that Muslims were the only ones antagonistic to the exploits of Vasco da Gama. Actually, the main victim of his success was a Chris-tian nation, the Republic of Venice, whose wealth was largely founded on the spice trade. Proud of her enormous treasure, Venice officially called herself ‘the mistress of a fourth and a half of the Roman Empire’. So the Venetians were furious. They did not scruple to incite the Sultan of Egypt and the Turks against the Portuguese. But, never mind how much they plotted, the days of Venice’s commercial grandeur were over. The ancient, ‘most serene Republic’ was doomed.

Until the expedition, Portugal was an insignificant, peripheral country, small in population and territory. Da Gama made it the richest nation in Europe. He also showed how the strength of a modern empire need not lie chiefly in the territory it controls but instead in sea power and commerce. England of course learnt the lesson pretty well…

Famous navigator though he was, Vasco da Gama could not quite stand

today as a champion of interfaith and religious dialogue. Having set forth in 1502 on a second journey to India, da Gama twice attacked Muslim ships loaded with Hajjis, pilgrims, from and to Makkah. He had all the passengers

massacred. Other episodes describe actions committed by him of such brutality to be, if anything, indication of an unsound mind. Of course, deeds of cruelty were far from uncommon in warfare centuries back. Was he merely

a man of his time then? Or maybe an unconscious effect of the ferocious spirit of the pagan gods? Either way, his actions were highly reprehensible indeed.

Does the key ethical problem reside with the very notion of an empire, by definition, an extensive group of states or countries brought by force under a single supreme authority or emperor? The two Iberian powers, Spain and Portugal, found themselves in dispute over the immense lands, the New World, which the voyage of Columbus in 1492 had opened up. A solution was sought

with the Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494. Pope Alexander VI had been asked to decide between claimants. Not an easy task without offending one side (Alexander himself was a Spaniard), His Holiness boldly drew a line along the

globe, dividing it into two parts. All the lands beyond the meridian of longitude passing 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands were to be the prerogative of Spain, while all the territories to the east of the Pope’s line would belong to Portugal. The latter included all of Africa and the Indian Ocean, leaving out the Indian subcontinent. That did not please the Portuguese but there were

other Royal malcontents. For example, Francis I, King of France, quipped that ‘I want to examine the clause in Adam’s Will which excludes me from my share of the world’. England and Holland followed suit. Anyway, in 1578 Portugal

was gobbled up by Spain and the former’s colonies were incorporated into the latter.

Those with a stronger reason to protest of course were the native peoples themselves. They never asked to lose their independence and to be taken over by foreign masters. The sensitive reader can only conclude in melancholy with the

words of St Augustine: ‘What are even the greatest empires but bands of robbers?’

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to Sultan

the Mediterranean had made it imperative

routes to the East.

Famous navigator though he was, Vasco da Gama

could not quite stand today as a champion of

interfaith and religious dialogue. Having set forth in

attacked Muslim ships loaded with Hajjis, pilgrims,

from and to Makkah.

Revd Frank Julian Gelli is an Anglican priest, cultural critic and a religious controversialist, working on religious dialogue. His last book ‘The Dark Side of England’. An exposé, is available on Amazon Kindle.

34

What did some of Britain’s wealthiest Victorian industrialists do with their spare cash? As a

recent elegantly curated exhibition at Two Temple Place lavishly illustrated, they invested in objects of art whose rivals are held in the likes of the British Library and Museum. The period of the

19th century was awash with growing collections of art owing to the expansion of European colonies across the globe. Nevertheless, it is the major collections of national museums that receive most of the visitors and scholarly attention to the detriment of smaller collections in the provinces such as the Lancashire museums.

Wealth here derived mostly from the production of cotton which was imported from the Americas, spun into cloth and exported throughout the British colonies. The booming textile industry in Lancashire reached its peak in the 1900s, gradually petering out as cheaper textile industries became increasingly hard to compete with.

Two Temple Place, Courtesy The Bulldog TrustPhoto © Will Pryce.

Places

forms. These have attracted European collectors across the ages.

Cleo Cantone shines a light on a small but fascinating collection

housed at the Blackburn Museum in the north of England

Robert EdwardHart’s

of Islamic manuscriptsintriguing collection

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Lancashire industrialists not only invested in their communities, but along with charity works, they turned to philanthropy and their collections were eventually donated to public institutions that are now housed in the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Townley Hall in Burnley and the Howard Gallery in Accrington.

In a period when travelling was more affordable and therefore more acces-sible, it was not uncommon in the mid-nineteenth century for expeditions to be organised with the scope of bringing back ‘valuable knowledge in the form of objects’. Indeed, with the rise of western powers and the decline of Muslim lands which were integrated into European colonial empires, acquiring such objects became comparatively easy, especially in the form of booty from wars with the Ottomans. Paradoxically, the mass fabrication of decorative goods and source of wealth that bred the desire for the acquisition of ‘eastern’ objects was decried and the craftsmanship of the Muslim world was extolled as well as expertly sought-after.

In the beginning of the 19th century the study and collection of Islamic art was mostly in the hands of bibliophiles, palaeographers, medievalists, archi-tectural theorists and art historians who were largely concerned with the ‘applied’ arts. Sometimes expeditions were accompanied by experts in oriental languages and trained archaeologists pushing the study of the ‘Orient’ into an academic discipline in its own right.

By the end of that century, the power-houses of Europe put on a series of ‘universal exhibitions’ in order to show-case the production of their dominions. Not only were they attended by the general public, but also by collectors and buyers. Such was the case of the Burlington House Exhibition of 1931 which hosted the International Exhibi-tion of Persian Art. Spanning some 25 centuries and every kind of artefact, this event marked a milestone not only for

the study of Persian art in the west but for Islamic art in general, for in terms of its Persian miniature paintings alone, a similar collection has been unrivalled.

How Robert Edward Hart (1878-1946) came to collect eastern manuscripts is unclear. His background was in the family rope-making business, which he took over in 1899 having graduated in mechanical engineering at Pembroke College, Cambridge. His love of knowl-edge is amply reflected in the variety of printed and hand-painted material, both of western and ‘eastern’ books and manuscripts. Far from flaunting his wealth, Hart rode to work on the tram and bequeathed his collection to the Blackburn public library which subsequently became the core of the Blackburn Museum of Art and Gallery. From his formidable collection of some 700 rare books, Hart’s fascination with early prints, particularly first editions, is evident. An ardent bibliophile, Hart’s book collection comprised several languages: German, French and Italian. Some of the earliest printed matter in Europe is well represented: from the Medieval Book of Hours produced in 15th century France to Giulio Ferrario’s volume on costumes in Africa and the Middle East. Hart was clearly fascinated by the evolution of the written word, as evidenced by the ancient Assyrian clay tablets in cuneiform text as well as Sanskrit texts and sacred texts of all three monotheistic religions.

While Thomas Boys Lewis’s impres-sive collection of a thousand Japanese prints was a relatively popular choice among contemporary collectors, Hart’s inclusion of Islamic manuscripts was

… it was not uncommon in the mid-nineteenth century for

of Muslim lands which were integrated into European colonial

empires, acquiring such objects became comparatively easy,

especially in the form of booty from wars with the Ottomans.

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Two Temple Place-Great Hall from South WestCourtesy The Bulldog TrustPhoto © Will Pryce.

37

relatively rare. Indeed, by the 1870s, Japanese art had become the object of study and collection of western scholars and collectors, respectively. The work of Hokusai, for instance, was well known to European painters and collectors. It wasn’t until the 1920s and ‘30s, with archaeological expeditions to the Middle East and Iran that Islamic art objects became seriously studied and categorised. Another important factor to be borne in mind is that whereas Lewis had travelled to the Far East and Japan and had therefore selected the objects in situ, Hart’s books and manuscripts were most probably sourced from London dealers. Indeed, he is said to have acquired objects in his collection ‘quietly, even surreptitiously’ in-keeping

with his private nature and reclu-sive lifestyle. Not being a specialist of oriental languages, Hart’s choice of manu-scripts is all the more intriguing. The exhibited pieces comprise three copies of Muhammad ibn

Sulaian al-Jazuli’s Dala’il al-Khayrat (Guide to happiness), one from 18th century Iran, one dated 1794 and a dated copy (1763) written in Maghrebi script which probably originates from North-West Africa. There are also two sheets from Nizami Gangavi’s Khamsa, from the 18th and 15th centuries. As well as scenes from Layla and Majnun, the Persian and Arabic al-Jazuli prayer books depict the haram in Makkah and the Prophet’s mosque in Medina.

The second exhibition case contains unbound sheets from the Shahnamah (book of Kings) dated around 1590 and possibly from Isfahan. Once again, Hart’s choice falls on the poetic tradi-

tion of Persia. Yet, considering that interest in Persian miniature paintings lagged behind the British predilection for Indian and particularly Mughal art and artefacts, Hart’s choice of manu-scripts proves pioneering. If, however, the manuscripts in question were purchased after 1931, it is possible that he, too, became fascinated with Persian painting as a result of having visited the exhibition at Burlington House or may have obtained its catalogue.

From Cotton to Gold is the fourth exhibition held at Two Temple Place in London: the Bulldog Trust, which organises the yearly exhibitions, describes its mission to ‘showcase publicly-owned collections from around the UK’. Housed in a fabulous neo-Gothic mansion on the Embankment, a visit to the exhibition affords the chance to visit this ‘hidden gem’. Built by William Waldorf Astor in the 1890s, the wood-panelled rooms featuring extensive carving, stain-glass windows, moulded reliefs and mosaic-laid floor, lend themselves to eclectic exhibitions, particularly from the Victorian age to which the building belongs. For all their beauty and curiosity, the objects on display are dwarfed by their rivals in Britain’s national museums; yet for a brief period they can be appreciated not just for their own worth but in the surroundings of a period house.

The Lancashire collectors had the fore-sight and generosity to bequeath their collections to museums for the benefit of the public. Thanks to their philan-thropic spirit, their collections continue to be appreciated by audiences today.

seriously studied and categorised.

Dr Cleo Cantone holds a PhD from the University of London. Her book “Making and Remaking Mosques in Senegal”, based on her doc-toral research, has recently been published by Brill.

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In recent decades, particularly in the west, the rate of breastfeeding has dropped dramatically giving way to bottle feeding. The decline

started in the late 1800s, due to the predominant attitude that breastfeeding is an old fashion and repulsive practice undertaken only by uneducated and

lower class people who could not afford infant formula. In countries with royal families [mainly in Europe], women with royal blood were practically prohibited

Health

Health Editor Laleh Lohrasbi

a real treasureMother’s milk:

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from breastfeeding, a job which was meant for the wet nurses. The royal infants were fed and looked after by the wet nurses and mothers only occasion-

ally took charge of their own children.

Later, as more women started working outside the house it gave another impetus to formula. In addition in the

19th century the discovery of the process of pasteurisation, which rendered cow milk safe for children, and later the introduction of powdered formula in

The advice for mothers to breastfeed their

new born babies was given 1400 years ago

by the Qur’an. Today medical science is re-

evaluating this practice. Laleh Lohrasbi

discusses the latest advice coming from the

medical world

40

the 20th century, all contributed to the increase in bottle feeding.

Another known reason for mothers not to breastfeed their babies is when the baby rejects breast milk, or mothers have painful breasts and feel that they have insufficient milk. On a socio-cultural level a study published in the journal of Human Lactation shows that cultural notions of the female breast as a sexual object place the act of breastfeeding in a controversial light and can be one of the most influential factors in a woman’s decision not to

breastfeed. Some feminists go as far as believing that breastfeeding is tanta-mount to exploitation. They renounce

breastfeeding as they consider mother-hood slavery for women.

The reality is that today we know far more about the impact of breastfeeding and are obliged to consider it as a

practical and beneficial action for the new-born baby. Scientific research has concluded that breast milk provides the ideal nutrition for infants. Breastfeeding benefits both mothers and their babies. Mother’s milk has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat. Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight viruses and bacteria.

Breastfeeding lowers the baby’s risk of having asthma or allergies. Moreover, babies who are breastfed exclusively

Although formula is specially designed for

human infants and has advantages compared

to cow milk, it is still a distant second to breast

milk. Children who are fed formula usually

gain weight rapidly and stay full longer due

to the slow rate of formula digestion.

41

for the first 6 months without any formula have fewer ear infec-tions, respiratory illnesses, and bouts of diar-rhoea. They also have fewer trips to the doctor.

Breast-feeding burns extra calories in the mother, so it can help her lose pregnancy weight faster. It also releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth. Breastfeeding also lowers the risk of

breast and ovarian cancer. It may also lower the risk of osteoporosis.

A more compelling reason to choose breastfeeding over the bottle is shown in a study published by Lancet Global Health in April 2015. It suggests that breastfeeding raises the IQ of the baby. Researchers believe breastfeeding is associated with improved performance in intelligence tests 30 years later, and might have an important effect in real life by increasing educational attain-ment and income in adulthood. This is because Breast milk is richer in the long-chain saturated fatty acids that are integral to brain development.

On a religious basis, Islam considers

breastfeeding a child’s right and highly recommends that mothers carry out their duty. Islam grants a high status to mothers who put rights and wellbeing of their new borns first. ‘Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two whole years, for those who wish to complete the term’. (2:233)

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq(a) also says: ‘The period of the mother feeding the child should be a minimum of twenty one months. If someone feeds the child for a lesser period, it will be causing a hard-ship to the child’.

Every woman’s milk is uniquely suited to meet the needs of her own baby. For example, the milk will be richer in the event of a premature birth, helping the baby to make up for his small size. The composition of the milk also changes from feed to feed and as the baby grows in order to meet the baby’s nutritional needs at each stage of his development. In addition, breast milk contains at least 100 ingredients and nutrients not found in formula.

Although formula is specially designed for human infants and has advantages compared to cow milk, it is still a distant second to breast milk. Children who are fed formula usually gain weight rapidly and stay full longer due to the slow rate of formula digestion. Formula almost has 50 kinds of proteins, fat, carbohy-drates, vitamins, minerals, nucleotides, amino acids and enzymes, but breast milk has more than 150 compounds of which more than half are not found in formula, including hormones and antibodies. The most important thing is that formula is a 20th-century invention and that babies since the beginning of time have thrived without it.

A 2010 infant feeding survey in the UK showed that 81 mothers in every 100 start breastfeeding, while after one week less than half of all new mothers were still exclusively breastfeeding and only one in every 100 managed the full recommended six months. Unfor-tunately despite all repeated public health recommendations, this rate has remained static for years. These numbers are almost the same for other western countries.

Other studies show that increase in breastfeeding could save the NHS £40m a year. Increase in breastfeeding cases in neonatal units from 7% to 75% could save the NHS £17 million per year only by reducing the incidence of common infant conditions, while the same increase could result in NHS savings of around £21 million in cases related to breast cancer.

The World Health Organisation along with other health authorities worldwide tries to encourage mothers to get back to breastfeeding their children. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until baby is six months old. Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond.

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) of 2015 theme is working women and breastfeeding which revisits the 1993 WBW campaign on the same issue. Lots of effort has gone into supporting women in combining breastfeeding and work. More action has been taken to set up breastfeeding or mother-friendly workplaces and raising awareness on working women’s right to breastfeed. However it seems that after two decades, the desired result is still a long way off.

…today we know far more about the impact of

breastfeeding and are obliged to consider it as

that breast milk provides the ideal nutrition

for infants.

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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Through July & August Commentary (Tafseer) of the Holy

Qur’an Conducted by: Shaykh M

Saeed Bahmanpour

Venue: Islamic Centre of England, 140 Maida

Vale, London W9 1QB

Time: Every Friday starting at 7:45pm

5 July to 9 August Al-Asr annual short vacation course

to Iraq & Iran

Al-Asr Scholastic Research Charity Or-ganisation presents its annual course and short vacation to the holy cities of Najaf- Karbala, Mashad and Qum. The trip in-cludes nights in Najaf, 5 nights in Karbala and Kazmain, 10 nights in Mashad and 16 nights in Qum.

More info: www.imam-alasr.com

Email to: svc@imam-alasr.com

Tel: Canada +1 647-280-9680 USA +1 425-443-

5106 UK +447798710475

Through 8 July

The prince and the pir

Dervishes and mysticism in Iran and India: This small display presents works on pa-per and objects exploring depictions and attributes of Sufi dervishes from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The relationship between a ruler and his spiritual adviser in the Islamic world have historically been an important one. In the Persian-speaking contexts of Iran and India, a holy man known as a pir or shaykh often provided spiritual guidance. After the 12th century, many of these practised Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism, whose devotees believe that the best way to know God is through the wisdom of one’s heart. Sufis are known for their renunciation of material things. However, they did not necessarily withdraw from the world, and many were connected to social and political institutions. The negotiation of power and authority be-tween princes and Sufis could sometimes become tense or hostile, but it could also lead to mutually beneficial interactions. This display presents diverse images of Sufis, from begging, wandering dervishes

to legitimisers of princes’ reigns. Works produced in Iran and India between the 16th and 19th centuries range from album and manuscript pages to objects used in daily life.

Venue: The British Museum, Islamic World, Room

34

Admission: Free. open late Fridays

12 July Woolf Institute at the Vitality

British 10k Run

The Woolf Institute has up to 30 places available to friends, alumni and support-ers who are willing to raise a minimum sponsorship of £250 each towards the work of the Woolf Institute. Over 500 charities take part annually in this run for UK charities.Runners will set off from Piccadilly, pass-ing many London landmarks along the route including the London Eye, Westmin-ster Abbey, St Paul’s and Whitehall.

Info: http://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/news/detail.

asp?ItemID=874

19 July Texts to Live by; Love & Compassion

What do our sacred scriptures say about truth? What does that mean for us in our everyday lives? Texts to live by - a series of round-table discussions with people of all faiths.

Venue: London Inter Faith Centre, 125 Salisbury

Road, London NW6 6RG

Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

more info: maggie.hindley@londoninterfaith.

org.uk

19 – 31 July Decolonising the Mind: Summer

School

The International Institute for Scientific Research (IISR) invites you to the DTM Summer School in Amsterdam.Knowledge is power and the manipulation of knowledge is the manipulation of pow-er. In the last five hundred years western colonialism has built a system of knowl-

edge production that succeeded in colo-nising our mind. From the very beginning of colonialism every act of oppression was met with an act of resistance.We regard colonialism as a system of oppression and exploitation in five di-mensions: geography, economics, social relations, political structures and culture (mental colonialism). That system did not end with political independence. We are still in the process of decolonising our minds. The DTM Summer School is a contribu-tion to this process. It brings together academics and activists who will engage in an intensive two-week interactive course of information, debate and discussion, analysis and the exchange of experiences in social struggle and the struggle to de-colonise our minds. The DTM Summer School is a project of the International Institute for Scientific Research (IISR) in The Hague, Nether-lands.

More info: www.globaldialogue.edu

21 July The Fifth International Conference

on Quranic Studies

This one day conference deals with stud-ies examining various dimensions of investigations into the Qur’an. Histori-cal interpretations and modern ones are considered. Linguistic, social, political and economic aspects are to be discussed. The conference is organised by Qur’an Interna-tional Institute in Oxford.

Registration: All those who wish to attend

the conference including the presenters should

register.

Register at: quran-institute.org.uk

More info: info@quran-institute.org.uk

23 July – 19 August Tawheed Summer Camp

Tawheed Summer Camp is a spiritually gratifying summer experience that wel-comes Muslim and non-Muslim adults, youth, and children alike to an exclusive facility in Michigan. Through deep, insight-ful lecturing, wholesome physical activity, and pleasant social gatherings, the camp aspires to achieve a balance of physical, mental, and emotional advancement, es-

43

sential for a successful life. Camp Taha offers comfortable amenities with many up-to-date accommodations and playing areas, plus an exclusive, private facility for our sisters (Noor Village) to enjoy a variety of sports without inhibitions and modern sleeping cabins with showers and wash-rooms.A five acre large reservoir owned exclu-sively by the camp visually enhances the camp experience and allows for various water activities daily. Beyond the stunning natural beauty replete with activities and excitement, the camper community cre-ates life changing bonds with others from around the world and shares wonderful experiences with each other.

Registration: https://www.tawheedcamp.org/

login.asp

25 & 26 July

Shubbak Literature Festival

Weekend Pass

A weekend of literature and storytelling held at the British Library, the programme consists of an array of talks, readings and children’s workshops exploring the power of literature taking in poetry, fiction and graphic novels to new literary forms and performance.

Time: 11:00 AM - 19:00 PM

Venue: Conference Centre, the British Library, 96

Euston Road, NW1 2DB

Fee: Weekend pass £26 Saturday Pass Sunday Pass

£15 – concessions available

1& 2 August The Muslim Lifestyle Expo 2015

Showcasing; lifestyle products & services. Where brands meet the Muslim consumer.

Venue: Ricoh Arena Coventry, Phoenix Way,

Coventry CV6 6GE

More info: @mlexpo

2 August Embrace 2015 at Tobacco Dock

The Embrace 2015 conference is the first of its kind and with the progressive spirit and cooperation of the leading organisa-tions in our community, delegates will be

able to hear from a diverse and talented group of speakers about projects and ini-tiatives that serve the development and betterment of OUR community. Featuring at the conference will be speakers from the business world, sharing their insight and journey to success, highlighting how community economics will act to progress and develop the Shia populous here in the UK and one day the world Insha’Allah. We also have other high profile keynote speakers that will be announced in the weeks leading up to the event itself, but rest assured we will not disappoint.The Great Gallery where we will be host-ing our conference seats up to 1500 peo-ple at any one time; therefore we will be running the conference at three different times throughout the day, ensuring all del-egates have the opportunity to listen to the speakers and network with the broad spectrum of talent and professionals at the event. The conference will also act as the stage for a one of a kind product launch that will mark the second stage of the #embrace2015 project.

Venue: Tobacco Duck, 50 Porters Walk, London

E1W 2SF

Time: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

More Info: www.embrace2015.com

Email to: getinvolved@embrace2015.com

Tel: 0844 2448426

Tickets: Early-bird £37.50, normal fee £42.50

3,4 &5 August Oxford Symposium on Religious

Studies

The summer Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies is a forum for discourse and presentation of papers by scholars who have a particular interest in the

study of religion. Venue: The Old Library of the University Church of

St Mary the Virgin, Oxford

More info: http://www.oxfordsymposiumonreli-

giousstudies.com/

5-6 August The fourth Islam and Bioethics

International Conference

The fourth Islam and Bioethics Interna-tional Conference will take place at Coim-

bra, Portugal. The conference will be part of the 21st Annual meeting of the World Congress on Medical Law (WCML) August 2-6, 2015. Participants and speakers from various disciplines are welcome (medicine, Islamic studies, natural sciences, law, his-tory, sociology, philosophy, etc.). The con-ference language is English.Organisers: Prof. Vardit Rispler-Chaim and Dr. Oren Asman.

More info: http://bioethiqueonline.ca/

archives/9938

15 August Skydive 2015

Tandem parachuting allows you to experi-ence the thrill of freefall skydiving without any extensive training. After a short tan-dem briefing, you will jump harnessed to the front of a fully qualified parachuting instructor from 15,000ft. From this height, you will enjoy one whole adrenaline-fuelled minute of freefall reaching termi-nal velocity at 120mph. Transport being arranged from Wales (Car-diff) only

Cost: £210 Minimum to raise £450

More info email to: challenges@islamic-relief.

org.uk

15&16 August Ben-Nevis Challenge 2015

Raising money for Water 4 Life. If Snow-don seems a bit too easy for you – or perhaps you just like tartan and short-bread – climb 300m higher to the top of Scotland’s Ben Nevis. At the end of a six-hour trek to its snowy peak, you’ll be able to boast that you’ve been to the highest point in the UK, and you only need a moderate level of fitness

Registration fee: £49 Minimum sponsorship

amount - £200

Transport from: Manchester and Bradford

More info email to: challenges@islamic-relief.

org.uk