Q-Notes
Alan Rickman's new play My Name is Rachel Corrie has the Jewish community up in storm. Malls and minarets - English cityscapes could radically alter with minarets and domes as part of a radical new project aimed at integrating diverse cultures. Gaddafi, the Opera. Unholy Alliance: Fox News buys Al-Jazeera (or does it?). O Layla, where art thou?: Cyberspace is bustling with Muslims in search of true love and a happily-ever-after. In defence of the nation: 100 women graduate from Iran’s female police academy.

First person
Channel 4’s Torture: the Guantanamo Guidebook subjected seven volunteers to the methods of torture used by American interrogators on alleged terrorists at the infamous detention centre in Cuba. The results of the experiment were chilling. Among the volunteers were three British Muslims. Of them, Isra Iqbal and Fauzi Waraich explain why they agreed to take part and how “two days in hell” changed their lives.

An Islamic history of Europe
Rageh Omaar went in search of Europe's lost civilisation and found a tale of racial tolerance, flourishing culture and remarkable scholarship. This is the story of Islam in Europe and the spirit of convivencia that shaped it.

The day women merely became more like men
On 18 March 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led jummah prayer. On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men. but, did we come closer to actualising our god-given liberation? Yasmin Mogahed reflects.

Forcing the debate on the future of Muslim women
Most books on the rights of Muslim women contrast their position in Arab society before and after the coming of Islam. Sadly, argues Humera Khan, most stop there. Thus,  Amina Wadud’s recent decision to lead congregational Friday prayers in New York can be seen as a desperate attempt to focus the attention of the community on the deteriorating position of Muslim women.

Not in my name
In the days leading up to the election call, the government decided to drop the proposed legislation on incitement to religious hatred from its parliamentary agenda, promising its reintroduction if Labour gets its coveted third term. Khalida Khan argues that support for the bill by the Muslim Council of Britain and others is misplaced. British muslims don’t need symbolic, ineffective laws, but comprehensive measures to outlaw religious discrimination.

A new beginning with the British Muslim Forum
The story of Muslims in Britain is a tale of true grit - of courage, innovation and hope.
Gul Muhammad, secretary-general of the newly launched British Muslim Forum, explains why a new national body is needed to carry this story forward into an era of new challenges.

Out of control orders
The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 grants the home secretary powers to circumvent standard legal procedures in its treatment of suspected terrorists. It is frightening, unprecedented and as Stop Political Terror’s Saghir Hussein tells
Sonia Malik, its implementation threatens to victimise and criminalise Muslims across Britain.

Diary
Affan Chowdhry on dancing monkeys, the world’s slowest imam and the search for his uncle’s grave.

St George, The Ubiquitous
On the same day in April, white banners with red crosses fly from English churches, a splendidly attired Greek orthodox bishop in Beirut celebrates a special four-hour mass, a Syrian monastery embraces thousands of pilgrims, and ailing Egyptians wait for miraculous cures in a small Nile delta village. the day? St. George's day, of course, April 23.

Review: Rather dull, actually
Sarah Hussain watches the BBC’s much-anticipated Pakistani Actually, an evening of documentaries about British Pakistanis, and finds the results lack creativity and invention.

Write Mind:
The Friday prayer blues
Have you heard that the ummah can only be saved if Muslim kids get married early? Hamzah Moin explores the modern tragicomedy of the Friday sermon.

Classic Q
Experiencing Q-News. Isla Rosser-Owen walked into the office and found chaos, creativity and confidence. It was exactly what she needed.

Upfront
Photographer Clement Cooper’s striking compositions of young British Muslim women are statements of startling beauty and profound dignity.

Fiqh questions, with Faraz Rabbani

FROM THE PULPIT
April 2005, Issue 362
Buy a copy of this issue online

Please click on the titles on the left
and the right to read individual articles.

The General Elections of 2005 might still turn out to be a milestone in the story of British Islam. Throughout the country there is a raging debate taking place within all parts of the community. From the pulpits to the kebab houses we are robustly engaged on matters political. Essentially the sophisticated discussions can be reduced to two critical issues: should Muslim take part in the electoral process? And how should they vote?

After more than a decade of debate and wrangling, the ayes have it. The argument that Muslims should not take part in a plebiscite is now old hat. Despite their vociferous and passionate arguments those advocating disengagement are today a relatively tiny minority. To continue airing such views is not only reactionary but unwise: an unnecessary radicalism that betrays lack of maturity, astuteness and strategy.

For the majority of the community the real debate is what should be the real aims of our participation in the general election and how we realise them. Traditionally Muslims voted Labour because it was the party that catered the most for their immediate social, cultural and political needs - committed to the anti-racist struggle, multi-culturalism and positive about immigration and Kashmir.
But it has all changed so dramatically. First, there is the issue of demography. Today the majority of British Muslims are not from the sub-continent. We consist of more than 56 nationalities speaking nearly a hundred languages. Furthermore, ours is a young confident community - obviously more diverse and more British if anything. The younger generation is pro-active, sophisticated and cannot be taken for granted.

Of course, they are bothered by the traditional 'Muslim' issues but their disquiet is broader than the plight of Kashmir, Palestine and Chechnya. They are bothered about global poverty and warming, the rising tide of Islamophobia and the MRSA bug, the abysmal fall in education standards and in the criminalisation and radicalisation of young people.

The fact of the matter is that British Muslims are a much more savoir vivre than either those who parade themselves as 'representative' bodies or party campaign managers could ever imagine. Woe to those - ideologues or simpletons - who want to perpetuate the notion that we are a monolithic entity.

Every day Islam in Britain undergoes a process of change and metamorphosis. The real struggle is to rise above the one-dimensional image being sustained by Home Office mandarins, their partners within the community and a lazy and insidious media. The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, acknowledged diversity within the Ummah as a blessing. Those who want either to deny or dilute it are doomed to failure.

Come May 5 and the majority of Muslims will go out to vote like their fellow citizens. They will - or should - be guided in their voting by the same factors that steer other people in this society: concern about the plight of others elsewhere, of the challenges facing the young, the old, the sick, the less disadvantaged and the future.
It is not all black and white but then this is why we are what we are: human beings not animals. We must put into practice our ability to discern and remember that we are going to be accountable for our decisions on the Day.

However, now is a good time to chill out. The last couple of weeks have been the best British Muslims have had as we are wooed by all the political parties. The new sense of our importance can only uplift our self-esteem and give us a respite from the normal barrage of contempt and Islamophobia that is normally our lot.
It is also time for political horse-trading. This might not be to all our taste but it is the reality of living in a modern democratic society. We need not take part in it if we feel strongly about it but we have no right to forbid it to those who want to. Our responsibility at the end is to ensure that our communities and their interests are not sold cheaply.

The only way to do that is to work towards mobilising our people at the grassroots to be both wise and vigilante. If anything, this coming elections promises to expose those have so far paraded themselves as either 'representatives' or 'leaders' of our communities. Their inability to deliver to the politicians who manufactured them in the first place can only be to the benefit of the ummah in the long term.

Whatever we do we should not forget that we are a median community instructed to enjoin good and forbid evil. Let us never forget the fact that what we have to offer society is more than hot air radicalism or pious rhetoric. It is time we made clear our vision of society: a vision in which we want to see young people thrive, the elderly and the sick are cared for, poverty eradicated and peace and harmony prevail, in our country and all of humanity.

Fuad Nahdi

Do we dare be European Muslims?
The Burda is recited in London, iMacs are used in Makkah - the yin of the ‘West’ is no longer disparate from the yang of Islam. In the first of a two-part essay, H.A. Hellyer presents a vision for European Islam consistent with its classical heritage and compatible with modernity.

And so it begins...
Tony Blair on earning the public trust, his vision for a third term and his fear that politicians will use faith to get votes. Michael Howard believes Muslims are just as concerned as other voters about healthcare, uncontrolled immigration, and chronic underachievement. Charles Kennedy talks tough on foreign policy, anti-terror legislation and admits he’s eager to earn the confidence of the community.

Constituency Watch
The concentration of Muslim voters in certain constituencies amplifies their voting power. In this election, which is shaping to be much closer than anticipated, the political parties are not taking any chances. Frontbenchers from all sides of the political spectrum have been dutifully visiting mosques, community centres and reassuring voters that their party has only the best interests of Muslims in mind. But the obedient Muslim voter of the past is no longer easily convinced. Abdul-Rehman Malik explains.

Is there a muslim vote?
Politicians have been climbing over themselves to endear themselves to the Muslim community. Has the Muslim vote really become so important?
Dal Nun Strong investigates.

The long and winding road
Only when we become more serious about playing our role as citizens can we be sure of our political maturity, argues AbdelWahab El-Affendi. The community must do more than squander its limited political capital on marginal issues and get serious about dealing with real problems.

A progressive victory in East London?
The Respect Party has energised East London’s political landscape. Aysha Ali and Adam Riaz Khan report on George Galloway’s chances of unseating an increasingly unpopular and uneasy Oona King.

Paving the way for Nick Griffin
Quiet, almost forgotten, Keighley is about to become very important. With Nick Griffin running in a town which already has two BNP councillors, Azhar Hussain looks at how the town’s significant Muslim population is responding and how the sitting MP may be held accountable for Griffin’s rise.

Scotland’s quiet revolution
Feeling betrayed by Labour, Arifa Farooq reports on how Scottish Muslims are challenging the political status quo and might even be willing to ditch Westminster for the promise of Holyrood.

Labour’s struggle to get Welsh Muslims onside
As more Welsh Muslims consider supporting the Nationalist Plaid Cymru, the second generation are becoming increasingly cynical about the political process - they simply feel unrepresented. Shabnam Ahmed reports on why Labour is worried and working hard to get Muslims onside.

A bolder ambition
Salma Yaqoob is constantly asked, “What’s the point of being part of something small and fringe?” By running for Respect in Birmingham’s Spark Brook and Small Heath constituency, she is hoping to do more than become an MP. She’s hoping to shift the foundation of political debate in Britain.

“Our votes are useless”
Having bargained with our communities, undermined our unity and caused infighting in mosques, politicians have given Muslims little in return. That is why it’s time to stop dancing to their tune and, as the Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Abdul Wahid argues, develop a political agenda that is truly our own.

Tashkent to Blackburn
When Craig Murray condemned the use of torture in Uzbekistan, he lost his job as UK’s ambassador. Now, he tells Sonia Malik, he’s challenging Jack Straw to come clean on Central Asia’s most brutal regime.

Still our safest bet
Labour behaved dishonourably in Iraq and left Afghanistan to fend for itself but, as Baroness Pola Uddin tells Sanjana Deen, it is still the only party which can deliver equality, justice and freedom for all.

Voting is not enough
Having just been through a vicious political season, American Muslims know a thing or two about tactics, strategy and getting out the vote. Although there is a sense of urgency to Muslim political involvement in both Britain and the united states, Svend White advises caution. Political activism, he says, has stark limitations in the absence of other types of civic engagement.