Interesting Reads

Interesting Reads simply are interesting reads.  They do not require responses in the same way as 'SaQ Alerts'.  If any member has an interesting read please email majlisansarsultanulqalam@khuddam.org.uk and we shall attempt to add it to the next edition.

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  • Women, Islam and media: the challenges of teaching sensitive subjects

    Guardian 

    It was in 2005 when the cover of Time magazine featured Mona Lisa in veils, it was then when I had an urge to think, write and research more about women, Islam and the media. The illustration of a European woman veiled crystallised stereotypical understandings and perceptions not only of a religion, but also a religion's relationship with women. The analysis of this cover image became my first international conference paper and an article for Feminist Theology Journal, which linked this image to the issues around cultural identity, politics, religion and feminism in the context of Turkey.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/mar/08/teaching-about-women-islam-media

  • Putting record straight

    Telegraph and argus 

    A Muslim group staged a two-week exhibition in Keighley library to dispel what it describes as misrepresentations of Islam’s central text. Temporary information boards displaying explanations of the content of the Koran were displayed on the library’s ground floor, and were provided by the Keighley Ahmadiyya Muslim Association.

    http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/9576191.Putting_record_straight/

  • France's Muslims hit back at Nicolas Sarkozy's policy on halal meat

    Guardian 

    President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to make the labelling of halal meat pivotal to his re-election campaign has infuriated, alienated and dismayed France's Muslim community, which may number as many as six million, and the backlash is growing. Members of the booming educated and entrepreneurial Muslim middle class say they are tired of being cast as scapegoats in Sarkozy's wooing of the extreme right and have accused him of dangerous and divisive election tactics.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/10/nicolas-sarkozy-halal-meat-france-election

  • Targeting minorities: Ahmadi man shot dead in Shaheed Benazirabad

    Express Tribune 

    A week after an Ahmadi man was shot dead in Moni Bazaar of Shaheed Benazirabad, another was killed on Wednesday. The victim, Maqsood Ahmad, was a resident of Rabwah in Punjab, where the Ahmadiyya Jamaat is based Initial accounts collected by the Jamaat stated that Ahmad was shot dead in a marketplace by two motorcyclists. A Section SHO insisted that the murder took place because of a personal enmity. However, he said that a case had not been registered yet.

    http://tribune.com.pk/story/346941/targeting-minorities-ahmadi-man-shot-dead-in-shaheed-benazirabad/

  • Gainsborough man jailed over anti-Islam images in his flat window

    This is Lincolnshire 

    Many were offensive – attacking both the prophet Mohammed and the Muslim religion. Conway, 44, had denied displaying the religiously aggravated hate material on April 16 last year. But he was convicted following a short trial earlier this year, when sentencing was postponed for reports to be prepared.

    http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Gainsborough-man-jailed-anti-Islam-images-flat/story-15455418-detail/story.html

  • Tribe and Prejudice

    Herald tribune 

    Given growing intolerance against Ahmadis throughout Pakistan, the move can also rightly be perceived as a form of persecution. In recent weeks, mobs have been gathering at an Ahmadi worship center in Rawalpindi to demand the removal of security barriers and to protest the state’s attempt to protect this maligned community. And in Lahore — where more than 80 Ahmadis were massacred during prayer in May 2010 — lawyers and university students have been boycotting a popular line of beverages produced by an Ahmadi-owned company.

    http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/pakistan-politicians-are-doing-too-little-to-stem-violence-against-religious-minorities/

  • Hillingdon Mosque opened by Islamic leader

    Uxbridge Gazette 

    A NEW mosque has opened in Hillingdon. More than 400 worshippers and special guests were at the grand opening of the Baitul Aman Mosque in Royal Lane, a place of worship for the minority Ahmadiyya Islamic Community. Followers were honoured to have the movement’s world leader, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, inaugurate the mosque and unveil a commemorative plaque on March 4.

    http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2012/03/13/hillingdon-mosque-opened-by-islamic-leader-113046-30520347/

  • 'Blasphemy is just part of everyday language': BBC's dismissive response to vicar

    Mail 

    A vicar who complained about 'blasphemous' comments made by Jeremy Clarkson has been told by the BBC that 'offensive language is just a part of everyday life'. The Rev Graeme Anderson said he was 'surprised and upset' after the Top Gear presenter shouted 'Jesus wept' and 'God Almighty' during a show on March 4. The 52-year-old has vowed never to watch the motoring programme again after receiving an 'unsatisfactory' response from the broadcaster, which claimed 'there is no consensus about words that are acceptable'.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2115875/BBC-tells-vicar-complained-Jeremy-Clarksons-blasphemy-offensive-phrases-just-everyday-language.html

  • Beware of this Khan

    Pioneer 

    Ahmadiyyas are no less threatened. The National Database and Registration Authority has introduced a new religious category, ‘Qadiani’, in online forms for national identity cards. This is designed to single out the Ahmadiyya community, which was previously identified as “non-Muslim”.

    http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/top-story/50428-beware-of-this-khan.html

  • 29 graves of Ahmadi community desecrated

    Express Tribune 

    A group of miscreants desecrated at least 29 graves belonging to the Ahmadiyya Community in Dunyapur district Lodhran in a late-night raid.

    http://tribune.com.pk/story/302105/29-graves-of-ahmadi-community-desecrated/