In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

Asalaamu Alaykum WaRahmatulah WaBarakatahu,

I start by praising Allah and by sending peace and blessings upon His Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the companions and all the righteous believers until the Day of Judgment.

It has been another tumultuous month for the Muslim community in the UK. We heard about the bugging of Muslim MP Sadiq Khan, Yusuf Qaradawi was not granted a visa to enter the UK and the shari’ah row was splashed across the papers for days on end! I want to address each point in turn. The fact that Sadiq Khan was bugged when he visited his constituent, Babar Ahmed, was something of concern. There has traditionally been an agreement between the security services and MPs that what is discussed between the MP and the constituent is entirely confidential and should be kept only between the two parties.

The question which one must ask centres around whether this agreement in general has now been broken or whether Sadiq Khan has been singled out because he is Muslim. On a slightly more positive note it did bring the spotlight temporarily back to Babar Ahmad who has been held for years now without charge while awaiting extradition to the United States. Babar was initially investigated by the police in this country, found to be not guilty of any crime and then subsequently released. The United States at some point decided they wanted to try him for something that happened in Chechnya many years ago and without producing a single shred of evidence asked the UK authorities to arrest him and hand him over. There has been an outcry from the Muslim community, if Babar is guilty, try him here, don’t send him to a country that has blatantly disregarded any notion of human rights in their ongoing ‘war on terror.’ More information can be found at: http://www.freebabarahmad.com/

In regards to Yusuf Qaradawi and the labelling of him as extreme by elements within the Government, the opposition and the media; well that is just blatantly absurd! Yusuf Qaradawi has been at the forefront of condemning terrorist atrocities across the world. He has been given a visa before under the leadership of the Tories (who recently spearheaded a campaign to ban him from the UK), Tony Blair was involved in discussions with him around the issues affecting Muslims across the world and the right wing media, well they would stoop to any level to attack Islam irrespective of which personality they maybe attacking. To those Muslims who decided to conveniently jump on the bandwagon and agree with the decision not to grant a visa, shame on you! You either haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, in which case please refrain from commenting, or if you do have a clue what you’re talking about then you’re clearly pursuing some alternative agenda, stop muddying the waters and confusing people! I’m not sure if there is a third option, if there is please get in touch: faisal@fosis.org.uk

What has halaal food, the nikah ceremony and the janaaza got in common? They’re all part of the shari’ah! Every Muslim, however practising or secular they may be will need the shari’ah at some point in their lives. The hysteria which greeted the comments by the Archbishop was startling, all he was suggesting is that we have access to some elements of shari’ah. The ability to get married and divorced for example, is that too much to ask? The idea that somehow we will have parallel judicial systems is misleading! The notion that we have a fixed judicial system which runs the same course for every individual that is subject to it is nonsense. The law takes into account elements of personnel circumstance, age for example or mental health, there is no such thing as a uniform judicial system.

We have seen examples of unique personnel law working for some religious groups. Members of the Jewish faith for example have a wonderful system setup, Beth Din courts. The idea that Muslims were calling for something new is untrue, and one wonders how much of the debate was driven by sheer racism and Islamaphobia. There certainly was a clear lack of academic debate around the issue. A very good article on the issue can be found at:
http://www.islam21c.com/british-affairs/a-call-for-muslims-to-support-the-integration-of-parts-of-shariah-into-the-british-judicial-system.html
Or: http://www.islam21c.com/british-affairs/shariah-courts-given-an-unfair-hearing.html

I think I’ll conclude my blog with these reflections, feel free to get in touch and voice your opinions. FOSIS has commented on all of the above in the recent media coverage. You can get more information from our website: www.fosis.org.uk

Jazakamullahu khayran. And I conclude by praising Allah, Lord of all that is in the Heavens and the Earth.

Wasalaamu Alaykum WaRahmatulah WaBarakatahu
Faisal Hanjra: FOSIS Head of Media