An Open Letter to David Cameron by Haitham Al-Haddad
To
The Rt. Hon. David Cameron
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
Dear Mr Cameron
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In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
“For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” ( The saying of Abraham, Quran 6:79)
We are deeply dismayed by your statements made in the Munich Security Conference on the 5th February 2011. Your speech was misleading, ill-timed, counter-productive. You have insulted the Muslims you are meant to serve and have demonstrated a failure to understand the Muslims and their faith. A Muslim, literally, means one who has submitted his will to God. We bow our head in prayer to Allah, five times a day, in submission to Him and Him alone. We only have one Master, and we are Muslims first. Our beliefs in our values, and in what we hold to be right and wrong is dictated not from an elected parliament, but from Allah (God) as revealed in the Quran and the teaching of last Messenger, Muhammed (Peace be upon him) and consensus of the Muslims. Furthermore, we believe that this life is a test, that after our death we are accountable before Allah on a Day of Judgement, and we will all be given recompense according to our deeds. This, above all, is what motivates us:
3:185 Every human being is bound to taste death: but only on the Day of Resurrection will you be requited in full [for whatever you have done] – whereupon he that shall be drawn away from the fire and brought into paradise will indeed have gained a triumph: for the life of this world is nothing but an enjoyment of self-delusion.
We readily accept and work to strengthen the meritorious institutions of British society, especially those that exist because of the common origin of the Muslim and Judaeo-Christian tradition that British values were derived from: of honesty and moral integrity; of altruism and neighbourliness; of social, political, and economic justice. We encourage Muslims to do whatever they can, even while being a minority, to assist in increasing the general good and minimising harm in society, even if it be by an act as small as removing something harmful from a walker’s path. We seek to work towards a peaceful society in Britain.
We encourage Muslims to work for the benefit of the people of Britain, for no one’s sake but Allah’s. We will go further to say that we endeavour to work with greater sincerity for the betterment of Britain and its people than any Prime Minister or an elected parliament does, for we seek no worldly gain. We would be insincere citizens if we failed to share with Britons what we believe will bring them peace and tranquility in this life and in the hereafter. Our role models are the Prophets of God, among them Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammed (peace be upon them all). As one Prophet said:
“I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire your betterment to the best of my power; and my success can only come from Allah. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look. “
But Muslims will not be bullied by ‘muscular liberalism’ into compromising on their teachings and the principles of their faith as Christiandom and others may have done, nor will we be forced to embrace values that oppose the faith of millions of Muslims in Britain, Europe and the world over. Interpretations of British values change as governments do, and what may be in keeping with liberal values may be completely unacceptable to our belief, whether it be mocking God and His Prophets, the alcohol culture with all its ills, and any cohabiting out of wedlock between man and woman, this being the only relationship Islam recognises. Are we still to be forced to embrace such liberal values and promote them? What values allow the fighting of illegal wars that kills thousands to spread democracy by the gun, or of staunchly supporting nations that deprive a people of a land their rights and oppresses them? Are these British values?
What we believe to be wrong and unjust, we will exercise our right to speak out against. You cannot speak of a belief in the freedom of speech and religion while in the same breath denying the Muslims the right to proclaim and preach their belief. You thus make ‘freedom of speech’ an empty slogan. You either accept that people – British Muslims included – have a right to believe in the values that their religion teaches, or that the state regulates our beliefs and our values as in a ‘thought police’ that incriminates and sanctions citizens for what they may believe even if they break no law. This, in essence, is what you propose. If so, then how different is that from communist dictatorships that repress those voices that oppose the state’s ‘values’? You are travelling down a road that will end with sanctions being placed on Muslims for simply believing in Islam and the Quran.
The Islamic faith does not teach extremism. But the Prime Minister, MPs and non-representative think-tanks with their own prejudices will not dictate to Muslims what constitutes a correct Islamic understanding and what does not. You would be ill-advised to be directed by any biased coterie of individuals with neo-conservative leanings or those who seek to undermine Muslims to forward the cause of other interest groups. The government has already, on the basis of such misinformation, branded mainstream Muslim individuals, events and organisations as extremist, reinforcing the perception that your government is unable to make an impartial judgement about its Muslim citizens. This reality makes your speech a cause for even greater concern among British Muslims.
In your speech you stated regarding terrorism that the “threat comes in Europe overwhelmingly from young men who follow a completely perverse, warped interpretation of Islam”. This is not true. The 2008 TE-SAT report of European terrorism confirmed that in 2007, only 4 out of 583 (0.007%) attacks were ‘Islamist’ in nature. In 2006 it was 1 in 498. The main threat comes from separatists and left-wing groups. Why do you seek to exaggerate the threat from Islamists when the facts state otherwise? It is irresponsible for you to further sour the relationship between a minority and the community at large, where there is already evidence of much anti-Muslim feeling. Statistics demonstrate that by sheer numbers alone there are more non-Muslims who feel hostility to Muslims (more than 20% in UK) or than vice versa. While singling out Muslims in the attack on multiculturalism, you made no mention of some Christians, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs who have been united for a common cause of hatred against Muslims in various guises under the banner of the EDL who were marching on the same day that you spoke. Rather than countering this unhealthy Islamophobia that is sweeping across Europe, you contributed to it. That you were on German soil should have reminded you of the consequences of contributing to hatred against minorities.
The most insulting and disdainful of your remarks directed to the Muslims was the threats of withholding funding from whom you think are extreme. Do you think that the strength of our conviction in our values is measured against paltry handouts or opportunities for photoshoots with MPs? Muslims do not need such money nor do they have any need to share platform with such ministers, and certainly not if these are meant to bribe them away from their principles. Reliance and trust upon Allah are the bedrock of our faith. What is the entitlement of any citizen – regardless of religion –should be granted to them. If the government decides to wrongfully withhold this from a Muslim individual or group because of ill-informed reservations about their beliefs, then it is the government that should be held accountable.
It is time for Britain comes to terms with the reality of Muslims as part of Britain with the differences that we have between us. If this is what you want to confront, and this is how you want to browbeat Muslims with ‘muscular liberalism’ then do, for we will, with God’s help, will be even harder-nosed in standing up for our faith, for we are responsible for this before God. We will always turn to Him and His guidance and we will, Insha’Allah (God willing) have the mettle to remain patiently steadfast on our faith and speak what we believe to be right:
6:135 Say: “O my people! Do whatever ye can: I will do (my part): soon will ye know who it is whose end will be (best) in the Hereafter: certain it is that the oppressors will not prosper.”
Your speech has lead to much upset in the Muslim community. While you may win over many right-wing and possibly racist voters, you will lose Muslim voters who will not forget your remarks in four years time. But it is not votes, but a sense of justice and perspective that should guide you. We hope you reconsider your statements and reassess the direction this government is taking with regards the rights of Muslim citizens of Britain, and not join Europe’s growing far-right.
Haitham Al-Haddad
#Culture1 month ago
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 19, 2011 at 1:39 PM
MUSLIMS DON’T RECIPROCATE THE TOLERANCE OF THE CHRISTENDOM
It is interesting to see how Muslims, who don’t allow us to just build churches or preach our religion in the Arabo-Islamic World, are hypocritically claiming that they are discriminated against in the West, where they are allowed to propagate Islam as much as they can. I think Westerners are too trusting and Muslims take them for fools.
Rifaie
February 19, 2011 at 7:37 PM
Before accusing Muslims of hypocrisy please step back and consider the following:
1)The west cannot be truly equated with Christendom
2)Tolerance is hardly an ideal that, in view of Christain behaviour when the west DID identify with Christiandom and not secular humanism as is the case now, can be equated with Christainity.
We need look no further than traditionally Christian nations of Europe – where are the long established Muslim communities there? In contrast , Egypt still has copts there from all the way back when Islam entered Egypt over a millienium ago.The Islamic empire of the Ottomans is the one that played host to the jewish refugees from the mass expulsion by the “tolerant” spanish Christians back around 500 years ago or so.The examples can go on.
Stop trolling us.We know better.
Hazara
February 20, 2011 at 4:19 AM
And yet Christians are under attack by Salafi extremists in Iraq, Pakistan, and Lebanon. I’m sure you “know better”, especially when Christians are forced to flee their ancestral homelands in Iraq to dilapidated refugee camps in Syria. Of course, they are just dirty kuffar according to the niqaabi supporters on here so who cares for them?
Rifaie
February 20, 2011 at 6:31 PM
It may also have occurred to you that even Muslims are under attack in these countries from for a variety of reasons…trying to make this insecurity an aspect concerning only Christians is a myopic viewpoint that ignores the general instability there.
What about the refugee camps of the Palesitinians? The Rohingyas of Burma? Who cares for them??
Hazara
February 21, 2011 at 12:23 AM
So I guess by your logic, you would rather have no Christians in Muslim countries, right? After all, a lot of Sunnis in those countries believe Christians there are foot soldiers for the West so killing them is perfectly okay.
Since when do fellow Muslims care for Rohingyas? Have you seen how Malays treat them? Then again Malays have no problem outlawing Shi’ism so that says a lot about their tolerance, but then again, no one seems to have a problem with that form of intolerance.
Rifaie
February 21, 2011 at 12:35 AM
“So I guess by your logic, you would rather have no Christians in Muslim countries, right?”
Ok what logic are you trying to invoke now? I dont see it – is it a special kind?That only you have access to?
“Since when do fellow Muslims care for Rohingyas?”
So, by your logic , why should they care about anyone else? Christians included?
And then why do you complain about it?
MR
February 19, 2011 at 11:06 PM
LOL, where is Christendom? Never heard of that country.
Sabour Al-Kandari
February 20, 2011 at 3:53 AM
Probably somewhere near Aiur ;)
We still haven’t battled yet, btw.
Rifaie
February 20, 2011 at 6:20 PM
They should just go to Shakuras, its safe there … till the zerg show up…
Sabour Al-Kandari
February 21, 2011 at 3:23 AM
LOL the zerg they practice some serious taqiyyah.
Amad
February 20, 2011 at 3:24 AM
The argument of “they don’t allow us to build churches in Saudi, so don’t allow mosques here” is only applicable if the Western governments adopt everything else from Saudi too. You can’t have it both ways.
Abu Abdurrahman
February 21, 2011 at 5:29 PM
Salamalaikum,
True mashallah.
In fact the argument doesn’t hold water: saudi never claims to be equal opportunities to all and secular etc etc. It has an official state religion.
Why on earth a country should start mentioning the standards of other countries (of ancestors of 2nd/3rd generation immigrants) – beggars belief. It almosts seems a mild form of racisim!
Our country is the UK – we’re talking about our country, so please don’t start chatting about places on the otherside of the globe when discussing our shared rights.
It would be truly interesting to see ‘enlightened’ countries say to communist individuals : ‘ we’re only going to grant you indiviudals the rights you’d get over there, because we’d not be afforded these rights under your system!’
And after all of that, there’s the cheek to say that muslims are changing their way of life. Rather our governments want to change all of ways of life. The same old hypocrisy of old.
ak
February 22, 2011 at 8:21 PM
good point.
DrM
February 20, 2011 at 3:39 PM
If Muslims “reciprocated” the “tolerance” of “Christiandom,” they would invade, colonize and carpet bomb western nations, install and prop up corrupt leaders like Hosni Mubarak and let the people languish in poverty.
Idiot, read a history book before lecturing anyone on tolerance.
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 20, 2011 at 5:27 PM
You ignorant! It is America that bootle-feeds Egypt. And we all know how Islam was pread. Even Egypt you are talking about was acquired by “invation.” In fact, apart from Saudiyya t’al Arabiyya and a couple of other Arab countries, the rest were stole from non-Arab original owners, thousands of whom were massacred in the process.
Talking about bombing, you should know that the number of Muslims killed by fellow Muslims is much highier than that killed by non Muslims. Conversely, there is no predominantly Muslims nation but Christians are killed vitually in daily bases.
Rifaie
February 20, 2011 at 6:25 PM
Do remind us of the Christian hero Charlemagne will you? How many heathens did he kill to advance Christianity? What about them pesky Aztecs the Spanish sought to show the light …last I heard they exterminated a fair number of them.
1.3 Billion dollars is no longer enough to “bottle feed” Egypt…they dont need it nearly as much anymore. When the population has grown as much since 79 and the value of the dollar has fallen so much , that money dont go as far as it used to…u can keep it.
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 20, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Some of us travel and so we know the general attitudes of Westerners, Arabs, Africans, Asians etc. Westerners can be immoral in modes of dressing, drinking etc, but they are the most trusting and honest in the World. It is their honesty and too trusting nature that Muslims exploit to want to systematically conquer them (Westerners) through various forms of taqiyya schemes. If China, Japan Koreas or Russia is subjected to the same situations as you subject Westerners, it would just be a question of months, you will stop it!!
DrM
February 21, 2011 at 12:33 AM
What rubbish. America bottle FED a client regime dictatorship in Egypt like it does in most “third world countries” to maintain it’s hegemony, while arming Jewish Zionist terrorists in the region. Obviously you’re overdosing on the bullstoll spoonfed to you trough FOX news.
Only a lunatic like you living in a bizzaro world could claim that Muslims are mostly killed by fellow Muslims. The overwhelming majority of Muslims who are being murdered in the region are by Anglo-American terrorists you giddily support. Nor do you have iota of proof that Christians are killed on a “daily basis” in Muslim countries.
“Tolerant Christiandom” my bloody foot! Bunch of damn lying hypocrites playing victims. Get back to me when you find those mythical Iraqi WMDs.
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 21, 2011 at 12:18 PM
@DrM,
Well, America needs to befriend Israel in order to be able to prevent it from reducing its hostile enemies to the rubbles of history. If you think Israel can’t survive without America, then you don’t even know Islamic scriptures very well. Do you even know that it was largely the Jews that made the West what it is scientifically and militarily? Semite are wonderful people even Arabs were great scientifically. They lost their Semitic ingenuity to Islamism of the renaissance.
ALLAH, NOT AMERICA, CREATED THE LAND OF ISRAEL. THE JEWS ARE OUR BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS. THEY ARE NOT WESTERNERS !!
The fight between the two BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS (Arabs and Jews) started long ago in the house of Prophet Abraham when his concubine, Hagar (Hajarh) and her son Ishmael (Isma’il) engaged in rivalry with his wife Sarah (Sarat) and her son Isaac (Is’haq).
How did God (Allah) resolved it? According to both the Islamic and Christian scriptures God (Allah) directed Prophet Abraham to separate the two far away—-Arabs to be settled at what is now Saudiyyat’al Arabiyya (Saudi Arabia) and the Jews to remain in Palestine. Prophet Abraham as God (Allah) commanded and there was peace.
However, while the Jews confined themselves to the land that God (Allah) himself gave them, the Arabs, on the other hand, eventually went out of their divine given land—massacring other nations and annexing them so that from their originally modest land they accumulated a mass expanse of land they stole from those they massacred—-they kept on massacring their ways in their diehard expansionism until a pocket of them reached Palestine, the tiny land of their cousins (Jews) and they want to make it their own in addition to the over 17 countries they already have each of which is several times bigger than the state of Israel. Since Allah don’t like their non-Muslim cousins (Jews) they can hang in the sky. Or are we saying that God (Allah) made mistake by giving each of them (Jews and Arabs) their separate land?
iHe
February 21, 2011 at 1:45 PM
Whatever Christianity needs to propagate is already perfected in Islam. Everything else is either meaningless, or backward to Muslims. Your reference to middle-east not allowing churches in their country is true. There are some exceptions like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait. And even in those cases it is highly regulated, hamdulilah. There are good reasons for this. Islam is a way of life that fundamentally negates all other definition of Worshiping God except that which is defined in Islam. Islam disqualifies false worship therefore in case of prohibiting construction of “Church” or anything the promotes falsehood only seems logical and practical. Why should a country have a law that allows building proper place of worship the Mosque, and on the other build Churches where false worship can take place next door.
So yes, allowing a church is like saying Porn (false worship) is wrong however Pornography (let’s build a church) is legal. There is an obvious inconsistency !
DrM
February 21, 2011 at 4:28 PM
I would not equate building a Church with allowing pornography. There are some things which have to be pointed out in response to the popular Christian LIE that Muslim nations don’t allow churches.” The only country which doesn’t is Saudi Arabia.
Some facts on this :
1)Saudi Arabia is a secular state which masquerades as an Islamic nation, a puppet client state created by Britain and under control by the US. Sound far fetched? Who do you think installed the Saudi “royal family†and has kept it in power for decades?
2)And why this desire to open Churches in a country which has so few Christians, primarily Americans and Europeans? These are the most secular and irreligious people in the world and all of a sudden get religious and want to build a church? Yeah right. it’s utterly preposterous how any idiot can even make such an argument or make demands at a time when Anglo-American terrorists are slaughtering people in the region. Europeans and Americans live in high end compounds segregated from the rest of Saudi society making 3 to 4 times what a Saudi or any non-western ex patriot earns. They make little effort to interact with the locals or learn the language or customs. They get their booze and pornography through their respective embassies. The only ones who live better are the Saudi “royals.†So no, you don’t get to build a church. You got more than enough perks already.
3) ..and finally last, but not least : I didn’t know western backed and installed dictatorships like Saudi Arabia(US sponsored monarchy) and Syria, Tunisia, Algiers, Morocco(all Francophone secular dictatorships)were the role model for the self proclaimed freedom lovers. I guess so when it comes to Muslims.
The Islamic world has a long history of tolerance for minorities which is unmatched and boasts more Churches then Europe and America combined. Simple facts I don’t expect knuckle dragging, Walmart clothes buying, Fox News watching, assault rifle shooting brainiacs to know or be interested in. Here’s another interesting factoid, Bethlehem remained a Christian majority throughout centuries of Muslim rule, yet in just a few decades of “israeli†occupation that is no longer the case. But who gives a damn about Palestinian Christians anyway, right?
Aminah
February 21, 2011 at 8:03 PM
Tit for tat collective punishment is a pretty ugly standard too. There’s over a million Roman Catholic Filipino guest workers in Saudi Arabia-what have they ever done to hurt anyone? I guess it’s their fault they were born in an impoverished country and need to be guest workers someplace else.
ahlam
February 21, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Why exactly Saudi where Islam’s holiest sites are? Over 40 Muslim countries and Saudi is the one?
DrM
February 21, 2011 at 10:30 PM
Wrong. It’s not “collective punishment,” it’s keeping historical and current realities in mind. The 2 million Filipino figure is for the entire Middle East, not just Saudi Arabia. Last I checked the American puppet sponsored Filipino government was doing Washington’s dirty work via “war on terror” against their own historically maligned and marginalized Muslim minority.
The more important issue for Filipino workers in the ME, especially Saudi Arabia are unpaid wages, sexual abuse and exploitation.
Aminah
February 22, 2011 at 11:18 PM
There are at least one million, and possibly up to 1.8 million Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia alone. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki?search=Filipinos+in+Saudi+Arabia
And what an informative dialogue this has been, all this time I had no idea that the Filipinos dusting Saudi living rooms and emptying bed pans were also really powerful policy wonks in Filipino government, dictating every move their government makes. Real movers and shakers in Filipino government, these maids and nurse’s aides.
This “current and historical realities” slippery slope doesn’t hold up well either. I don’t want to be held responsible for other people’s bad acts that happen to share the same gender as me, or the same skin color as me, or the same ethnicity or religious beliefs, and I doubt you want other people’s bad acts to be held against you either, when you have nothing to do with them, and may very well be completely opposed to them. Nor are you in any position to dictate to Filipino guest workers what their priorities should be especially in matters of religious practice. If practicing their religious beliefs is important to them, even while grappling with exploitation and other criminal acts inflicted on them, then so be it.
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 22, 2011 at 11:11 AM
@DrM,
Let Muslims allow Islam to be subjected to the same criticism that Christianity is subjected to by the atheists in Western World; let them allow people to convert or leave Islam at will and see if Islam can survive for long.
As for equating building of Church with allowing pornography, as done by the other contributor, we don’t care as we have answer for that.
DrM
February 24, 2011 at 3:24 PM
@Nur el khaddab
I see your online mental health is deteriorating fast. Spend some time brushing up on your lack of English comprehension, I didn’t equate the Church with allowing pornography, I spoke against this comparison. Islam is demonized on a daily basis in the western gutter press, so don’t tell you don’t criticize us. You lie, slander and make up controversy out of thin air when it comes to Muslims to keep your dirty wars in the Muslim world going. Leaving Islam. Oh you’d like Muslims to leave Islam wouldn’t you, you Christofascist? Sounds like sour grapes from Christians who can’t fill Churches in their own countries jealous at that mosques are full..
Pingback: An Open Letter to David Cameron by Haitham Al-Haddad | Sadif Raza Ditta
Hazara
February 19, 2011 at 4:26 PM
“What values allow the fighting of illegal wars that kills thousands to spread democracy by the gun, or of staunchly supporting nations that deprive a people of a land their rights and oppresses them? Are these British values?”
But blindly supporting and defending the Taliban is okay since after all, most people here claim that they are merely upholding ‘Shariah’, even if it means engaging in oppression?
Let’s be honest. British Muslims have a history of being intolerant when it suits them, and complain when the tables are turned. When they support hatemongers like Anjem Choudhary, Omar Bakri, Khalid Kelly, Bilal Phillips, and so forth, you expect anyone to take them seriously? I see far too many British Muslims condemning David Cameron yet they say nothing about the hate mongers that exist within their midst. After all, the Swedish suicide bomber was radicalized in Britain after all, but of course, some people here continue to be oblivious to it, as if having an “immoral society” is somehow justification for bombing them or imposing your worldview on it.
If British Muslims want to live in their Islamic “utopia” in which they often daydream about, wouldn’t it be better to live in a Muslim country instead of making Britain into another Talibanized country? Not all of us want Taliban sympathizers to speak on behalf of us, thank you.
Amad
February 19, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Same song and dance… hazara, u r so obsessed with the taliban, that u can’t have a conversation without raising their bogeyman specter. Do you have nightmares about them? Do you go out on the street worrying a talib might attack u?
When you find me a mainstream Muslim org that wants a taliban system in UK, I’ll take u more seriously… until then, u r speaking from the same mouth as EDL and other islamophobes.
DrM
February 20, 2011 at 3:42 PM
Hazara is a shia extremist(or at least pretending to be one). I ran into this sectarian twit on AltMuslim a few years ago, and this guy is a loon accusing anyone he disagrees with being in cahoots with the Taliban.
Yasir Qadhi
February 19, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Ma sha Allah great letter.
waleed ahmed
February 19, 2011 at 7:25 PM
well said. another thing the PM overlooks is that fact that British muslims are increasingly isolated from the mainstream not because of some ‘islamist ideology’ but because of constant bigotry that dehumanizes them. a recent article in the BBC stated that anti-muslim speech is becoming increasingly acceptable in british households.
ahlam
February 19, 2011 at 10:44 PM
SubhanAllah the bigotry. Especially papers like ‘metro’ make the journey on the bus uncomfortable seeing people reading their lame ”Muslims are bad” stories like the one on a Muslim woman who left her two kids home-alone and went to another country to get married and was described in the article as ”a devout Muslim woman” even though her picture didnt exactly look it and the story didnt even have anything to do with her religiosity!!! …..la hawla wa la quwata illa billaah.
They constantly make it a point to mention the person is Muslim if theyre ”bad”, but hardly ever mention a person is Christian/athiest/sikh etc if they did the same.
umi
February 19, 2011 at 7:29 PM
may allah swt reward u
ahlam
February 19, 2011 at 10:25 PM
It is true that the british society has become less tolerant.
I like how you go straight to the point and tell it like it is,the truth in all its glory.
BarakAllahu feek.
Amal
February 25, 2011 at 8:53 PM
British society has become less tolerant for a number of very rational reasons, mostly related to maintaining their ideals in the face of massive waves of immigrants who do very little beyond take advantage of the liberal society–while all the while spewing hate and suspicion of “the West.”
We Muslims behave so shamefully wherever we go (e.g., the Maghrebis in France, the Lebanese in Australia, the Turks in Germany) that it’s very little wonder no one wants us.
So before we get too carried away with our self righteous, defensive screeds, perhaps we should listen for a bit and try to understand WHY people are driven to make the sort of statements you’re complaining about.
Junny
February 20, 2011 at 1:28 AM
The British Conservative party, like all staunch European right-wingers (including Geert Wilder’s party) get their votes from fear-mongering, usually by singleing out an exotic, strange group that doesn’t mix much with the locals and sets up its own culture, and making them look like a threat to security and European values. Consider Geert Wilders and his famous ‘Fitna’, stirring up fear against Muslims by taking verses urging Jihad out of context and linking them to attacks by extremists. His aim is not to protect the Europeans against ‘the imminent threat of an emerging Eurabia’ but to garner votes and ensure a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections. Politics is a popularity contest. The right-wing and left-wing’s values mean nothing in the political arena; in the end it’s all about votes. And the example of Cameron is no different.
OA
February 20, 2011 at 5:42 AM
First posted Feb 11 on:
http://www.islam21c.com/politics/2208-open-letter-to-mr-cameron
read the interesting comments
May Allah reward the Shaikh for his stance and strengthen him. THIS is what is required of Muslim scholars : standing up and speaking of the RIGHTS of Allah. Often Muslims are talking in a socio-political language -about multiculturalism, rights, democracy, ie, they let others set the agenda for them. But they do not talk of the rights of Allah, and they do not folow the lead of the Prophets in speaking the truth as they did, as Musa alaihissallaam said to pharoah : 20:48 “‘Verily it has been revealed to us that the Penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away.'”
Enough is enough
Let this be a turning point, and let the da’ees and scholars follow the lead of the messengers…
AbdulHaq
February 20, 2011 at 8:17 AM
Where’s Haddad’s “open letter” to Dr Suhaib Hasan and the Hasans?
OA
February 20, 2011 at 9:40 AM
That is ‘cup half-empty’ response.
What if he didn’t think that open letter was the right thing to do? Or there are reasons for him not to do it?
What has this letter got to do with Dr Suhaib Hasan, let alone his family?
Justice
February 20, 2011 at 6:38 PM
As-salamu alaykum
Dear Abd Al-Haq
Perhaps you can write a PDF about it? :-)
Bushra
February 21, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Here is an indirect reply to Sh. Suhaib Hasan and co:
http://www.islam21c.com/theology/2127-the-prophet-adam-and-human-evolution
OA
February 20, 2011 at 9:33 AM
Brother AbdulHaq
When someone does or says something right, the correct response isn’t as yours was above.
Strange.
Farah
February 20, 2011 at 9:43 AM
this is a great article! I wish more of these articles were written.
OA
February 20, 2011 at 10:05 AM
Interesting that Cameron can talk about equality when in his own cabinet:
29 out of 30 members are white (1 Asian)
26 out of 30 are male.
A white , male, Oxbridge cabinet, and they tell us about equality.
Why aren’t there any socialist workers or marxists in the cabinet then?
Zoheb
February 20, 2011 at 12:18 PM
Mashallah a really great letter.
Just wish somebody could have taken out the few grammatical errors but the points are well put forward mashallah.
OA
February 26, 2011 at 10:58 AM
refer to :
http://www.islam21c.com/politics/2208-open-letter-to-mr-cameron
Safia Farole
February 20, 2011 at 2:19 PM
Mashallah, this was a great response! I can’t believe Cameron went down the same path as Merkel with regards to multiculturalism. Sad.
Sarah Amena
February 21, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Jazak Allah Khair for writing such an eloquent letter! I pray InshAllah this will have a positive effect :)
DrM
February 21, 2011 at 4:19 PM
@Nur el Masih Ben Haq
Ah yes, the stench is unmistakable, you’re just another member of America’s lunatic israel worshiping clergy. These “israelis” are not “our brothers,” they are a bunch of mostly secular, East European thugs, gangsters and terrorists masquerading as Hebrew Israelites living 5000 years in the past. the Holy Qur’an never gave the israelites land unconditionally, and thus they were expelled for their repeated violations of the covenant. A long topic for another time, but let me enlighten that primitive mind of yours.
Most Judeans in Greco-Roman times were Judean by religious practice, did not live in Judea or Palestine and were neither Judean nor Palestinian by ancestry or by residence. The majority of the population in Palestine was not Judean by religion.
Sometimes the people of Palestine or of Judea are described as Judean in a purely territorial sense even when they do not practice Judean religious ritual. Most cultic Judeans lived in Mesopotamia (i.e., Iraq) and were the descendants of non-Judean non-Palestinian populations that took up Judean cultic practices. Most Judeans of the Roman Empire were Greek-speaking and were the descendants of non-Judean non-Palestinian populations that practiced variants of Judean religion. During the period of Judean Rebellions in Palestine during the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Romans took some rebels as captives and sold them as slaves to defray costs, but the total number seized from all the rebellions probably did not exceed 20,000. The Romans did not expel the Judean population from Palestine.
Modern Palestinians are descendants of ancient Roman period Judeans (in the territorial sense) or Palestinians of all religions.
They were gradually Christianized and then Islamized like all other Middle East populations. Zionist racists, tribalists and propagandists in the media and in academia promote a false primordialist equation between modern Jews and ancient Judeans in order to justify or to legitimize the theft of Palestine from the native population by European settler colonists.
Whats ironic is that Bethlehem remained a Christian majority city under centuries of Muslim rule while it was de-Christianized in just 44 years of Israeli occupation. Real nice of western “Christiandom”(an outdated term considering that the West is largely atheist and secular) to give aid to Zionist terrorists who persecute Palestinian Christians as well. Oh that’s right they don’t count, do they?
The difference between you and me is that I’m interested in FACTS, not fables and lies western hypocrites like you day dream on. Like I said earlier, get back to me when you find those Iraqi WMDs, troll.
Nur el Masih Ben Haq
February 22, 2011 at 11:17 AM
It was a faction of Muslims that misled the West on the alleged Iraqi’s WMDs. Just as another bloc of Muslims is pressurising America to save it from a nuclear-powered Iran. You better be more informed on some of these issues. They are not as they appear to the man on the street.
DrM
February 24, 2011 at 3:54 PM
@Nur el Khaddab,
Now I know you’re a complete and utter liar. This isn’t even debatable. There was never a “faction” of Muslims who “misled the west on Iraq’s alleged WMDs.” Muslims opposed the Iraq war tooth and nail. The “Iraq had WMDs” lie started with Zionist neocons in the US, who invented this fabrication in the 1990s to justify the invasion of Iraq both strategically for oil and Israel. A continuation of western colonialism in the Middle East which began more then a century ago. It was Bush who spoke of crusades and “God told me to attack Iraq.” Iraq was also blamed for 911. Anglo-American terrorists who you support have killed over a million Iraqis. If anything the destruction of Iraq has led to a widening of Iranian influence in the region. The same scum are now itching to start a war on Iran claiming it has nukes.
You are not a believer, you’re a despicable deceiver. Your criminal kind wont learn until you meet your maker.