Anti-Muslim Bigotry

FOX’s Struggle, War Against Terrorism & Shariah in UK (3 Updates)

Published

February 12, 2008

Abu Reem

Some must-read articles for those who like to stay in the know:

Fox News is in for a very rough 2008 @ Media Matters
The War Against Tolerance @ Common Dreams
In addition to Amir Butler’s article on “Sharia Courts and the Freedom of Contracts“, there is more (by the way, these situations clearly isolate the “Muslims” who do not represent the mainstream majority, and in some cases actively work against Islamic causes- like Tarek Fatah who railed against the courts in Canada, and those who are lining up against them in England now, such as Ali Eteraz):
- Civil & Religious Law in England (full text of Dr. William’s excellent speech– ignore the soundbytes and opinions, read the full thing) @ BBC.
- Also read JDsg’s thoughts on Shariah, esp. as elements of it are being put into play in Singapore
- Ayesha Khan’s sensible article @ Guardian. She was part of the Channel 4 documentary on divorce Shariah style, and knows what she is talking about.
- Yusuf Smith’s commentary on the bigotry unleashed and the presumptions of the Islamophobe Melanie Phillips
- Sharia Law – Light the Blue Touch Paper and Run! @UmmahPulse
- [Update 2] Jinnzaman’s thorough analysis & refutation of the anti-Shariaties here: Live Free or Shari’ah Hard
- [Update 3] Austrolabe brings Shariah home to America: Et tu, Minnesota?

[Update 1] P.S. I have been informed of a claim by a “Muslim” blogger that most British British Muslims consider hudud laws as being inhumane, and that most Muslims don’t support the Shariah courts. I believe that whoever is propagating this opinion is not only a liar (because there is no statistical evidence offered or even available to back such a strange view), but also a traitor in many ways. I also find it incredulous that a person who calls himself Muslim would refer to Islamic laws as inhumane, and actively support the bigotry in opposing only an apportioned application of these laws (i.e. in family matters). From what little I know, I have no doubt that such a statement (calling hudood laws inhumane) is kufr, but I leave it to the scholars to determine whether such statements remove a person out of the fold of Islam (remember an act of kufr does not lead a person to being a kafir, so this is not equivalent to takfir).

I also wonder why the “traditionalist” core has so far remained silent (with few exceptions) to such direct attacks on the values and traditions that we hold so dear, and not actively refuted this perverted ideology. I hope that this will change because these wide-reaching attacks on “conservative Islam”, what is really mainstream Islam, may affect lay Muslims who can’t see straight through the facade of ultra-progressivism that such writers represent (despite any claims of separation from the movement). Most people have recognized Tarek Fatah, Irshad Manji and other charlattans for what they are… I hope most of us will also wake up and smell the coffee with regard to other self-proclaimed online “mujtahids”.

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Abu Reem

Abu Reem is one of the founders of MuslimMatters, Inc. His identity is shaped by his religion (Islam), place of birth (Pakistan), and nationality (American). By education, he is a ChemE, topped off with an MBA from Wharton. He has been involved with Texas Dawah, Clear Lake Islamic Center and MSA. His interests include politics, cricket, and media interactions. Career-wise, Abu Reem is in management in the oil & gas industry (but one who still appreciates the "green revolution").

14 Comments

theManOfFewWords

February 12, 2008 at 2:22 PM

Wow, jazakallahukhair bro! Good stuff!

Reply
Amad

February 12, 2008 at 10:00 PM

waiyakum MoFW… You know these episodes (e.g. the shariah court issue) are opportunities to separate the fringe elements from the mainstream. alhamdulilah, there is good in everything for Muslims :)

Reply
Organic Muslimah

February 12, 2008 at 10:11 PM

Wow! I have a long reading list ahead of me :)

Reply
amad

February 13, 2008 at 12:23 AM

did I make it clear that the readers were perfectly optional :) ?

I would at least read what Dr. Williams had to say… it reminds me of the ayah in the Quran:

“…and nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant” (5:82)

Reply
Manas Shaikh

February 13, 2008 at 5:49 AM

It is really heart-warming to see that Fox is having a troubled time.

Dr. Williams’ speech reminds me that Allah (SWT) said the closest to the believes shall be those who say “we are Christians.”

Wallahi Alim.

Reply
Organic Muslimah

February 13, 2008 at 11:26 AM

Articles 1 and 2 were great!

Reply
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee

February 13, 2008 at 11:26 AM

Jazzak Allaah Khayr for the links.

I think the comments of Ms. Khan are really important. To the extent that there are serious issues of domestic violence, forced marriage and other abuses of women in the UK Muslim community (I don’t claim to know exactly how widespread the problems are) I can see why anyone would rightly be concerned about the ways in which Shariah, just like any other kind of legal system, can be abused by unscrupulous individuals or imperfect human judges, etc. The solution to these concerns is to bring Shariah into the mainstream and discuss it and apply it openly with room for scholars to advise each other, not to force those Muslims who should always look to the law of Allaah to have to seek it as if they are seeking something shameful.

I agree that it is important that people who claim to represent the community are clear in where they stand on such issues, so the community knows the true intents and interests of those that claim to represent it.

I join you in hoping that the “traditionalists” will weigh in soon with their voices on this issue.

I note that Michael Mumisa has been quoted prominently as an opponent of these courts and that he is also someone who speaks frequently of reinvigorating ijtihad and also someone who uses the name of Al-Shatibi (rA) to justify some of his opinions. So I think this is further reason why all those in the Muslim scholarly community who toss out slogans like “fiqh of minorities” and “maqasid-ash-shari’ah” frequently to be clear on exactly how an issue such as this is properly viewed through such lenses.

Finally, I would like to note that even among public supporters of Mr. William’s comments, there has been an emphasis on the limited nature of such application of Shariah and the fact that the Muslim community is not calling for or working towards any wider applications in UK society. Such comments are undoubtedly true and important to note in understanding the reality of the issues involved, but I must say that this discussion oft times leaves me a bit cold.

While people should attempt to do the best they can in whatever circumstance they are in, I think that the application of Shariah to only certain narrow areas of life often can lead to discrimination, harm to the weak and a number of other perverse results. Just as it can be disastrous for some so-called Muslim regimes to only implement a distorted version of hudood and claiming to be implementing Shariah, it is troubling to me that the long term goal be a Muslim community where some personal status laws are applied on a completely selective basis and that this becomes over the longer run what the community grows to think of as “the implementation of Shariah.”

Allaah knows best.

Reply
Amad

February 13, 2008 at 10:07 PM

Also see this:
Live Free or Shari’ah Hard

Reply
Pingback: Live Free or Shari'ah Hard: Democracy in the East? Shari'ah in the West? | Global Intifada
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee

February 14, 2008 at 11:49 AM

The Newsweek/Washington Post On Faith site has referred to this controversy and asked for people’s takes as well as asking whether “U.S. law should make room for shari’ah”.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/2008/02/the_archbishop_of_canterbury_h/all.html

So far, the only Muslim who has responded is Pamela Taylor, whose response, as one might guess, is, umm, “progressive.”

Reply
Amad

February 14, 2008 at 1:27 PM

Abu Noor, Pamela has been hand-picked by Newsweek, in addition to Eboo Patel, in order to represent the Muslims. Another attempt at shoving progressives down our collectives throats.

I have added a little response to her post. But really MSM’s reliance on these fringe elements is not only annoying, but extremely dishonest! Its like picking an ultra-feminist-ultra-liberal-pro-choice to represent mainstream Catholic views.

Reply
theManOfFewWords

February 14, 2008 at 7:06 PM

Amad, what do you mean by fringe and mainstream? Are you talking about muslims, non muslilms?

Reply
Amad

February 14, 2008 at 7:44 PM

MSM-MainStreamMedia

Their reliance on fringe elements amongst the Muslims, esp. the radical left.

Reply
thabet

February 15, 2008 at 2:31 AM

Sh. Abdal Hakim Murad has a response at Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, and Yahya Birt has a post on his blog.

Reply