Islam
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Rabia Salim, Manchester In Islam the topic of asking for daily forgiveness is a vast one. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, (peace be upon him) stated the purpose of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as a revival of Islam, and said: “Rather, a community is worthy of being called a true community when it puts…
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Basira Ajmal, Bournemouth It is of course always with feelings of deep sadness that one writes about the Holocaust— a catastrophe in which millions of people, especially Jews were mass murdered remorselessly by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. A genocide to exterminate Jews, an atrocious horror. While we honour the victims of the Holocaust…
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Sameen R Chaudhary, London The month of December, cold and dark as it is, for many is a celebration of light over darkness. For them it is a time to be with family and friends, worship, giving, joy and singing, embracing and focusing on the good. For Christians in many parts of the world, December…
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Basira Ajmal, Bournemouth Unfortunately we are living in a world full of fake personalities, fake standards, fake reputations, fake accounts and even fake calls—that’s a lot of fakes, and oh! I nearly missed fake news. No wonder we find it hard to trust people, organizations and even governments. We have all heard of the boy…
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Iffat Mirza, London In the western world, Christmas is simply one of those things that just cannot be escaped. When you step out into the cold air from October onward, the smell of fir trees greets you, tinsel sparkles and the shops are constantly advertising the best presents that your grandchildren will eternally love you…
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Yusra Dahri, London Introduction Recently, a lot of controversy arose from Ofsted’s (Amanda Spielman) fear of the hijab ‘sexualising’ young girls, aged 4 to 5, who may wear headscarves in primary school. There is no Islamic requirement for girls to wear a headscarf until they have reached full physical maturity, so it’s perfectly acceptable for…
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Maha Khan, London As soon as the term ‘competition’ is articulated, one is instantly reminded of the inferiority and superiority of those around us. We are quick to start digging around in search for our competition in every aspect of our lives, whether it be deemed healthy or not. It is fair to say that…
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Sarah Waseem, London Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector for Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education (UK)) inspectors will talk to primary school girls who wear the hijab to ascertain from them why they do so. The move comes after concerns that wearing the hijab could be interpreted as the sexualising of young girls. Is the…
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Munazzah Chou, London Dear OFSTED The case of your inspectors asking young primary school girls about their choice of clothing makes as much sense as CQC inspectors asking paediatric patients about their sartorial choices in clinic. Very little. The function of both organisations being the inspection and regulation of services, why one would wish to…
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Laiqa Bhatti, Surrey When Ofsted announced that their inspectors will talk to primary school girls who wear hijabs a few days back in order to tackle ‘sexualisation of children’, it raised a lot of questions and debate. In a climate where Islamophobia and related hate crimes are rising, the hijab has been the go-to issue for…
Voice of British Muslim Women 