The Thinking Muslim

Despite the recent incendiary declaration by Trump to occupy Gaza and clean the land of Palestinians, there remains fervent talk that normalisation with Saudi is on the cards. The de facto leader Mohammed Bin Salman has made it clear that he wants to make public what is very much the reality: his embrace of Israel and probably the most significant political prize to the genocidal state. The kingdom, in many ways, is rapidly moving towards a westernisation, at least in economic and cultural terms – with concerts and sporting events and the mass incarceration of the many scholars, including the father of my guest today, Shaykh Salman Alaoudh.

We are honoured to have Abdullah Alaoudh on the show to help us understand the new Saudi Arabia and its extremes. Abdullah Alaoudh is a legal scholar from Saudi Arabia. He is currently the senior director of Countering Authoritarianism at the Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC) and secretary general of the Saudi National Assembly Party.

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Trump’s Gaza Riviera, in the impossible event it was realised, would be built on the corpses of hundreds of thousands of dead Palestinians, half of them children. The idea is a grotesque display of American profligacy. A hegemon that knows no bounds. It would be wrong to blame it on President Trump's excesses. Trump is no more than another vile iteration of this crumbling colossus. The Biden administration was responsible for this genocide. They armed Israel, gave it diplomatic cover, undermined international law to protect it and financed its death machine.

Trump is a benefactor of this mission, not its curator. His proposal to 'clear out' Gaza and realise some perverse real estate dream is less a dramatic reversal of US policy – as some liberals cry, and more a continuation. He said the quiet thing out loud, and that's what the chattering classes across the US and Europe find so repulsive.

Read the full piece here: https://jalalayn.substack.com/p/trumps-gaza-riviera

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The Gaza genocide has come to a pause, with the hope that a ceasefire will remain in place. The details of the deal has allowed many to return to their homes, shattered by a deliberate attempt to destroy all infrastructure. The West remains accomplices and its media have shamefully misrepresented what has happened.

Last year we spoke with Amr Abdul Latif, from Gaza who told us about his life growing up under this brutal occupation. Today we have him back on the show. Amr Abdul Latif who was until recently, a resident and citizen of Gaza. He came to the UK to study his post graduate degree at St Andrews University and now works in the UK.

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Al Aqsa is the first Qibla, prayer direction, of Islam. It is regarded by Muslims as one of the three sacred Mosques, and its surroundings Bayt al Maqdis has been blessed by Allah in the Quran. The hadith talk of the blessed one who prays in all three of the Masjids, something alhamdulillah I have managed to do. But this mosque, its precincts and the entirety of Palestine is today under threat by a foreign settler force that is hellbent on eradicating its history. My guest today argues that there is an urgency now in time to save this mosque, as the Zionist project comes to fruition and he calls for an intellectual reawakening of the ummah.

Dr. Khalid El-Awaisi is from Hebron, Al Khalil in Palestine. He a lecturer of the pioneering field of Islamic jerusalem Studies. His main speciality is in the historical-geography of Islamic jerusalem. He is currently the Associate Professor of Islamic History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and Executive Director of Islamic Jerusalem Academy .

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When commentators talk about the relationship, often fraught, between Islam and the west, most start with the mass migration from the Indian subcontinent, North Africa and Middle East to western countries. A few years back, the British foreign secretary announced the greatest culinary delight of the brits was the chicken tikka masala. But many do not recognise the deep, often interconnected relationships between European civilisation and Islamic civilisation and how much Islamic influence contributed to what we today call Romanesque European architecture and broader culture.

My guest today Dr Diana Darke is a historian and Middle East cultural expert who wants to set the record straight. Her notable works include Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe (2020), Islamesque The Forgotten Craftsmen Who Built Europe's Medieval Monuments, and The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival (2018). In 2005, she purchased a 17th-century courtyard house in the Old City of Damascus, reflecting her deep connection to the region.

You can find Diana Darke here:

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Islamophobia across the Western world is on the rise. It is a pernicious prejudice that seems to have seeped into public acceptance. It is not just the prize of the ultra right, across the West, even liberal minded governments have sought to malign Muslims unjustly. Consider President Macron’s separatism Act, that maligns in effect any believer that follows the shariah. Or consider at home, the Labour government’s reluctance to recognise anti Muslim hatred as a cause of the most recent riots across northern England. Or the US administration downplaying the murder of Palestinians.

My guest today, Dr Amina Shareef argues that Islamophobia is more than a visceral hatred. It is a death dealing project. It aims to dehumanise, and expose Muslim populations to death. Dr Amina is an academic specialising in anti-Muslim racism, Islamophobia and the war on terror policies, practices and its impact upon Muslims .

You can find Dr Amina Shareef here:

Website: https://aminashareef.com/

Twitter: @AminaShareef1

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Never in human history has the role and position of men and women been subject to so much dispute. The advent of liberalism has ushered in an era of free thought and individualism that has removed previously accepted notions of roles and obligations. Liberal feminism has explicitly sought to forward a hollow version of equality that has on the whole, harmed women and men. And sadly, the backlash has been a crude assertion of masculinity that loathes women and removes any of their rights. Social media is awash with a morass of failed gender relations and gender conflicts, to which many young Muslims, however well-intentioned, contribute.

Imam Dawud Walid published a serious contribution to the subject of manhood. He argues that the rich classical scholarly works detailing how to bring up young men have been lost. This sacred idea of chivalry may look out of place in modernity, but it produced well-balanced young men that combine courage with humility, strength with forgiveness and public duty with prayer. Imam Dawud Walid believes Islamic masculinity is not naturally acquired but has to come from revelation and reinforced by models of manhood within families and communities. He has recently authored a brilliant book titled, Futuwwah: and raising males into sacred manhood. A timely contribution to the topic. He has recently authored a brilliant book titled, Futuwwah: and Raising Males into Sacred Manhood, a timely contribution to the topic.

You can follow Imam Dawud Walid's Telegram group here https://t.me/dawudwalid

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In a world of alternative facts, Elon Musk acts as the high priest of disinformation. The world’s richest man has exploited his platform, X, to embark on a vitriolic anti-Islam tirade with real-world consequences. It is unfathomable that he believes his incendiary messages are based on reasoned evidence and intellectual rigour. But truth and integrity are expendable commodities in this new world of democratised lies. Musk appeals to a radicalised Western population experiencing the repeated shocks of a flailing empire.

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When we talk about Gaza, we often speak of it in isolation from the broader Muslim world. When the Muslim countries are mentioned, it’s normal to suggest that they have given up on the Palestinian cause. The Abraham Accords are oft-cited as an example of the Muslim world turning its back on a beleaguered member. But is that really the case? Is the future fortunes of the Palestinians linked to the Muslim rulers?

To help us untangle fact from fiction, I am happy to have Dr Azzam Tamimi back on the show. Dr Azzam is a Palestinian activist, academic and broadcaster and travels extensively to the Muslim world.

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The Waqf, or endowments, is an age-old Islamic method of supplying public services. Throughout Islamic history, this third space enabled entrepreneurs and the monied to donate to causes that would multiply their reward. Many of the key services from health to education in history were funded by this method and it became a model of giving, emulated by many Westerners. Oxford University, it is said, built its endowment structure on the Waqf model.

But what is a Waqf, and why do many call for its reintroduction today? My guest believes in this forgotten sunnah, and has set up an organisation the National Waqf. Maulana Tahir Talati heads the National Waqf, an organisation looking to revive the practice of Awqaf.

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Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction

2:08 – What is Waqf?

3:41 – Purpose of Waqf

5:04 – Waqf vs Zakat

7:19 - Different Waqfs

20:19 – Role of state

28:01– Reliance on Waqf

29:47 – Islamic economists and Waqf

31:10 – Generating funds

37:10 – Waqf Political fund

47:08 - National Waqf org

51:43 – National Waqf structure

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In this second session of our 2024 roundup we have Sami Hamdi back on the show to discuss Syria in more detail. Syria is in many ways a ray of hope but also raises all sorts of uncertainties. What path will the revolution take? How do we assess Jolani and the rebel movement? What of the demands of regional and global actors, ideological and otherwise. And how does Syria navigate the US and Israel's anxieties about the new government and its Islamic colour.

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Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction

1:34 – Ahmed Al Sharaa

11:23 – Implement Sharia?

21:52 – Jeremy Bowen Interview

32:47 – Role of Türkiye

43:45 – Türkiye NATO member

53:41 – Trump Presidency

1:01:48 – Taliban and West

1:12:31 – Forgiving?

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The situation in Germany is very tense for Muslims. The recent Christmas market attack has brought into focus how the political elites in the country malign muslim voices. but it goes deeper, there is a systematic campaign to make advocating for Palestine unlawful.

Hebh Jamal is a Palestinian journalist and activist based in Germany , currently working on an upcoming documentary film, The Reason of State: Germany’s War on Palestinians.

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Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction

1:35 - Magdeburg car attack

6:22 – Elon Musk Germany

8:37 – Islam and AFD

14:45 – ‘Reason of state’

20:24 – Germany Liberal country?

33:35 – Muslim group pushback?

35:14 – Atmosphere of fear?

38:40 – Wider German population?

40:55 – Comfort vs Religiosity

45:09 – How to help?

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Syria has witnessed a remarkable victory in recent weeks, with a brutal dictator falling against all odds. What is the Islamic significance of this? How should we understand the concepts of victory and seeking Allah’s help? To delve deeper into this topic, we welcome Dr Shadee al-Masri back on the show to enlighten us about these crucial ideas of victory and seeking Allah’s assistance. How much do Allah’s help and victory rely on our actions, iman, and preparation? What are the religious implications of surrendering the struggle or feeling disheartened?

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:09 – Allah’s victory?

4:11 – Realists in Ummah

13:54 – Leaders in Ummah

17:40 – Competing obligations

28:28 – Allah’s intervention

35:45 – Wait for victory?

39:39 – Gaza’s victory

45:36 – Hypocrisy

49:54 – Believer’s mindset

56:36 – Importance of Dua

1:00:18 – Value of Tahhajud

1:02:39 – Battle of prophet

1:10:47 – Giving up

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This year we have seen two Muslim countries move away from bitter dictatorships, Bangladesh and Syria. Yet the horrific scenes in Gaza remain. Any joy that comes from Syria is always muted as we endure the horrific genocide perpetrated by the west and its colonial enterprise. Gaza exposes the hollowness of an international order.

The civil war in Sudan remains active, Pakistan’s generals have consolidated power, and the Egyptian pharaoh seems comfortable aiding Israel in its blood-shedding and the Saudis are looking forward to selling Palestine for a US security deal.

We have the pleasure of inviting Sami Hamdi back on the show to look at the year gone and the year ahead. Please as always remember to subscribe to this podcast on your preferred platform, this helps us grow our audience. Alhamamdulillah we are now the 2nd most listened to Muslim podcast on Apple. If you want to support the show, please think about becoming a patron. For a small monthly donation, you will be helping to expand our reach and our content.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:22 – Saudi Ceasefire agreement

10:51- Hezbollah peace deal

20:28 – Netanyahu’s aims

34:45 – Metaphysical and Politics

55:07 – Sisi

1:01:44 – Sisi Palestine betrayal

1:06:59 – Syria and Egypt

1:10:17 –2025 Looking ahead

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As part of Muhammad Jalal’s conversations with young Muslims from around the world, he speaks with Mosaab and Watfae about the Trump presidency and what this will mean for young Muslims.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

1:20 – Dread for Trump?

4:06 – Writing on Ballot?

5:00 – Feeling on ground

8:15 – Tactical voting

12:45 – Muslims in politics

16:48 – Public figures

20:57 – Hijrah

27:47 – American Muslims progressive?

33:12 – Sami Hamdi

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The Syrian revolution began in 2011 as a grassroots civil society uprising against one of the most tyrannical rulers in the Muslim World. Bashar al-Assad, like his father before him, presided over a state of terror, with mass disappearances, secret police repression and a brutal, corrupt state machinery that governed through fear. Assad had four secret service agencies (mukhabarat) that worked independently. If you got onto a list, your life would become a never-ending Kafkaesque tragedy. All four had to pardon you before you could be absolved of any guilt. Ordinary Syrians talked in hushed tones in case stray criticism of the state would be misconstrued as insurrection. Assad was a ‘god’ who had to be adored by his people.

What has happened over these past two weeks is truly spectacular. But how did we get here? And how do we understand the past 13 years?

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Is the European Union a model for Muslim unity? Can the often fractious and politically weak Muslim world improve its regional strength and international standing by pooling economic and even political sovereignty and creating a zone of prosperity that harnesses talents and halts a brain drain to the West? Until 1924, the Muslim world came under a caliphate; many calling for a modern unity cite the EU as a model.

But is the EU really something to aspire to? What binds the EU states is their unity, which is fracturing under the weight of what my guest today calls Euro Whiteness. Today, many Muslims are being marginalised not just by EU nation states but in a larger sense by an EU that observes itself to be a paradise, protecting its borders from Eastern barbarians – the jungle, as Joseph Borel referred to the world outside.

To help us understand the EU, what it is, and what its failings are, I have the pleasure of speaking today to Mehreen Khan. Mehreen is the economics editor of the Times and she spent five years with the Financial Times as their Brussels Correspondent.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:24 – Euro whiteness

8:42 – Neutrality and Hijab ban

18:29 – European Islam?

20:35 – Secularism – France’s religion

23:38 – What is EU?

27:16 - EU Ideology

31:17 – The Left

34:44 – EU Success

38:05 – Binding structures

44:48 – Europeanness vs Muslimness

47:40 – EU on Gaza

50:03 – Media on Gaza

54:32 – Islamophobia and Optimism

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This live event was held on Youtube to show solidarity with the Syrian revolution. Here’s a list of speakers and their respective timestamps

Timestamps:

0:00- Introduction

9:00 - Omar Suleiman - Justice

24:10 – Tox – On ground feeling

32:44 – Dilly Hussain – Freedom

37:47 – Azzam Tamimi – The Left

46:02 – Ali Hammuda – Quranic view

59:45 – Shadee Elmasry – Propaganda

1:05:35 – Imam Tom – America

1:13:50 – Saifullah – Filmmaker experience

1:17:36 – Razzan Saffour – Syrians experience

1:28:03 – Moazzam Begg – Assad

1:36:40 – Robin Yassin – Prisons

1:47:37 – Maryam Abdulrahman – Faith

1:54:55 – Ismail Patel – Palestine

2:02:30 – Taji Mustafa – Ummatic thinking

2:10:20 – Abdul Wahid – Islam vilification

2:22:23 – Arslan Hidayat – Uyghurs view

2:29:30 – Mohammad Abdulrahman – Martyrdom

2:40:38 – Sikander Iqbal – Victory

2:48:31- Mufti Mangera – Al-Sham

2:51:00 – Imran Muneer – Muslim activism

2:57:48 – Mufti Mangera - Al-Sham

3:06:41 – Bilal Abdulkareem – Revolution Subverting

3:11:40 - Abdullah Jabbar – Aid

3:15:35 – Haitham Al-Haddad – Advice

3:34:17 – Yasir Qadhi – Final words

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Syria is now free. But what does the future hold for a revolution that we believed had all but been decimated? The most recent spectacular offensive has given the rebel groups control over the country's major cities. There now is an appetite for change and unity. I have been struck by the jubilation felt by most Syrians as the tyrant fell. Many who escaped his brutality are returning. The optimism has to be maintained, and the positivity it expresses should not be replaced with the pessimism shown by some partial commentators who are wishing for Syria to fail.

But challenges remain. How do we navigate these? And what of the people who are now at the centre of the new government? I have the pleasure of having Bilal Abdul Kareem on the show to help us understand the complexities of the road ahead and analyse the current players.

Bilal Abdul Kareem is a video journalist who has been covering the conflict in Syria since 2012. He has produced reports for CNN, Channel 4, BBC, and Sky News and runs his own news channel, On The Ground News.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:30 – HTS ideology

5:55 – Justice – Islamic call

8:41 – Jolani – positive?

11:50 – Bilal too pessimistic?

14:34 – New Syria

16:31 – Toleration of Journalists

17:49 – Capability to govern

20:11 – Israel

23:30 – How far is Israel in Syria

26:00 – Assad central to resisting Israel?

28:06 - Where Islam fits?

33:28 – New government and the West

35:54 – Syrian Prisons

39:38 – SDF

43:35 – Iran and Hezbollah

46:25 – Iran’s role in Syria

49:18 – Anti-Imperialist left

52:18 – Syrian Mindset

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Syria has finally been liberated after 13 years of struggle. We mourn the lives of all that have fallen and celebrate with Syrians. But the horrors of Assad’s gulags are coming to light for the world to see. The scenes from Seydnaya, the slaughterhouse, have shocked many of us. Reflecting on the horrors and looking at some of the challenges, I am honoured today to have a Syrian who has been at the heart of this struggle.

Robin Yassin-Kassab is the author of the novel The Road from Damascus. He is co-author with Leila al-Shami of the Rathbone-Folio prize-shortlisted book Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War. And he is the chief English editor of the ISIS prisons museum – which may soon become the Syria Prisons Museum

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Timestamps:

0:00- Introduction

2:16 – Reflections

8:13 – Syria another Libya?

15:20 – Prisons – Torture state

22:57 – Information accessing

25:13 – HTS discipline

31:48 – Syrians re-migrating

35:02 – Israelis in Syria

41:47 – International community crippling revolution

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This episode was filmed on Saturday, before Damascus fell.

The Syrian revolution began in 2011 as a grassroots, civil society uprising against one of the most tyrannical rulers in the Muslim World. Bashar al-Assad like his father before him, presided over a state of terror, with disappearances, secret police repression and a punitive state machinery that governed through fear. Assad styled himself as an anti-imperialist when in reality he had colluded with the West in past conflicts and after 9/11 Syria became a favourite place for the Americans to render suspects for horrific torture.

Today we have Moazzam Begg who is the senior director of CAGE and author of enemy combatant – a book about his time as a detainee first in Bagram and then in Guantanamo. He also spent time in Syria during the revolution, as part of his investigation into the Assad regimes complicity in the CIA torture programme.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:41 – Assad anti-imperialist?

7:07 – Syria’s torture campaign

12:42 – The Left on Syria

16:24 – Why dismiss Syrians?

19:05 – Russia

22:48 – The opposition

27:33 – ISIS vs Opposition

31:59 – Post-Assad Syria

34:36 – Minorities

36:40 – Assad against Israel?

39:17 – Palestinian resistance on Syria

42:48 – Islamic activism

45:26 – Will we be able to visit Syria

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The demands of the people were snuffed out by a deranged dictator who decided he would burn his country, before giving up power. We thought the revolution had ended, and the millions of Syrians dispersed around the world were never to see their homeland again. This all spectacularly changed this past week, where, to everyone’s surprise, the opposition was able, for the first time, to take over Aleppo and are now fighting to expand their territory. Many questions remain, and a deliberate propaganda campaign waged by Iran and Russia with the help of their social media proxies has confused many who had not followed the events.

They hope to throw out false news to make us believe its all too confusing. To help us untangle the political realities I have back on the show Sami Hamdi who joins us today from the US.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

1:50- Rebellion – Why now?

8:48 – Turkey – did they know?

17:29 – Is HTS moderated?

24:37 – Division in rebellion groups

30:30 – Is this another Libya?

43:45 – American policy on Syria

52:20 – Kurdish role

1:02:02 – Syria undermining Gaza?

1:10:03 – Did Hezbollah fail?

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It’s been a spectacular week in Syria. The world had written off the rebellion that began in 2011, believing Assad, with the support of Russian air power and Iranian militias, had consolidated his rule. In the past weeks, it has been reintegrated into the Arab League, and it just seemed the best the revolution could accept is a rump state in Idlib. There are many who have not followed the developments in Syria over the past 13 years of revolution, and the Thinking Muslim will dedicate some of our shows to reveal the facts and provide important analysis.

Today, we have Razan Safoor to give her own account of the Syrian revolution. Razan is a Syrian researcher and an activist. Recently she has been speaking to the international press about developments. So we are honoured to have her with us today.

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Moulana Ebrahim Ismail Bham was born and raised in South Africa. He has attained his masters in the Islamic sciences and theology under great traditional scholars. Shaykh Ebrahim I. Bham is known to be one of the most active scholars in South Africa for education, development and advocacy.

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Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

2:05 – Hamidia Masjid

7:40 – South African Muslims

14:18 – South Africa ICJ

19:11 – Nalendi Pandor bravery

22:38 – Justice in Islam

29:30 – How do we stay motivated?

35:22 – Accountability in Islam

40:37 – non-Muslims Islam queries

44:11 – Balance of Ummatic cause

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Now that the US elections are over, I want to explore deeper issues today with my guests. Is political participation really the principal way by which we are going to proceed, and who best should be charged from within us to undertake this task? Some have argued that to progress, we have to play the ‘long game’ and adopt the Zionist prototype of influence.

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:50 – Satisfied with results?

7:18 – Will Trump be a problem?

13:20 – Trump vs the globalists?

18:20 - America First Ideology?

20:36 - Trumps cabinet

27:35 – US Empire in trouble?

36:16 – Muslim’s moving forward

42:49 – Islamic ethics?

51:00 – What are the guardrails?

56:32 – Prioritisation in communities

1:04:00 Mid Terms

1:05:15 US Muslims and exceptionalism

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How do Muslims deal with what looks like the comprehensive success of Western civilisation. Is it time to accept defeat, as one writer put it? Or does Islam have something to offer the world that can move us beyond this dysfunctional world.

Our guest today is Hasan Spiker, he argues that modernity is not neutral. The assumption is that modernity is regarded as universal is false. He argues that modernity is Western and its embrace is a means to Western hegemony and domination. He is the author of this soon to be published work, published on the 26th November – The Unraveling of Intelligibility.

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How do Muslims deal with what looks like the comprehensive success of Western civilisation. Is it time to accept defeat, as one writer put it? Or does Islam have something to offer the world that can move us beyond this dysfunctional world.

Our guest today is Hasan Spiker, he argues that modernity is not neutral. The assumption is that modernity is regarded as universal is false. He argues that modernity is Western and its embrace is a means to Western hegemony and domination. He is the author of this soon to be published work, published on the 26th November – The Unraveling of Intelligibility.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

1:58 – Muslims Disempowered?

4:34 – What is Modernity?

9:42 – Metaphysics and progress

 14:51 – Islam and modernity

19:00 – The 5 Bifurcations

24:20 – Importance of Sharia

25:36 – Separating sacred from spirit

27:58 – Sharia vs Spiritual

29:57 – The second bifurcation

37:43 – Protestantism and secularism

41:02 – Nation-state and modernity

44:06 – Liberalism development

49:52 – The third bifurcation

53:02 – Reasoning religious belief

56:38 – Empirical vs Metaphysics

59:10 – The fourth bifurcation

1:08:21 – non-recognition of Metaphysics

1:11:40 – The final bifurcation

1:13:47 – The west’s Machiavellianism

1:17:20 – Liberalism’s Façade

1:19:18 – Gaza western hegemony

1:27:17 – Ideologies and modernity

1:31:58 – Islams counter-hegemony

1:41:41 – City of Love

1:45:51 – Strength of modernity

1:50:30 – Islam will save modernity

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What does Trump mean for the wider world, how do we position Trump’s America First philosophy in the context of US Unipolarity. Are we seeing the unravelling of the US in the world? To help us understand Trumps America I am happy to have back on the show Sami Hamdi. Sami is an analysts and campaigner and we are forever indebted to his energy.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

3:49 – How much did Gaza play in Kamala’s loss?

17:00 – The Muslim community’s role in Kamala’s loss

21:15 – The Green Party not a vehicle?

23:00 – The power of Dawah

31:30 – Has Gaza brought about a shift?

37:11 – Is Netanyahu emboldened by the Trump presidency?

43:45 – Does Iran have to worry about Trump?

56:42 – Is the Trump administration going to be more ‘America First’?

1:04:35 – ‘America First’ from a trade perspective

1:10:37 – Gaza created a new environment

1:14:27 – What will dictate the future of America?

1:15:58 – Public opinion in America turning towards Nationalism?

1:19:25 – Dawah’s ability to shift society

1:27:20 – Never forget that Gazans are at the centre of all of this

1:38:30 – The reward for our activism is Jannah – centre this

1:43:00 – Connecting Dawah to politics

1:55:09 – Is politics so ingrained within Sami that he will carry on in Jannah?

1:57:56 – We all build on the backs of each other

1:58:45 – Imagine the impact we have if we continue moving

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Should we, people who remain married to justice, accept that international law, if it ever did work, is today defunct? In a broader sense, when we pursue its application are we in danger of creating a sense of false hope. These are the existential questions we are now asking ourselves as the genocide proceeds at pace into its 2nd year.

My guest today is Francesca Albanese, an international lawyer who has been in the eye of the storm, speaking truth at the highest levels. Francesca specialises in international humanitarian law and is the special rapporteur for the UN reporting on Palestine.

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

3:21 – Is international law the problem?

5:05 – ICC ruling, why the delayed decision?

7:07 – How effective are the ICJ judgements ?

9:54 – Who is the system working for?

11:05 – Is Francesca hopeful about international justice?

13:27 – David Lammy and the definition of genocide

16:51 – The reluctance of the West to call this a genocide

19:30 – Is October 7th a catalyst for ethnic cleansing?

26:03 – Can Israel be isolated by the UN?

29:27 – Arab and Muslim countries lack of solidarity

33:48 – How successful can the ICJ complaint be?

37:08 – Weaponizing of antisemitism

41:40 – How can young Muslims stay active?

44:45 – How does Francesca stay motivated in an unjust world?

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There’s an assumption that the West have remained honest brokers in the Gaza genocide, or at least critical friends of Israel. My guest today Matt Kennard argues that contrary to public utterances, the British government, like the Americans are deeply involved in Israel’s merciless bombing of Gaza. They are providing military support, intelligence, diplomatic cover whilst at the same time claiming they want a quick resolution to the slaughter.

Matt is an independent journalist and author of three books Irregular Army, Silent coup and The Racket

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Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

2:03 – Britain’s participation in the Gaza genocide

7:48 – The secrecy around the intelligence

10:26 – Britain leads in giving intelligence to Israel

12:11 – How do we apply pressure on the Labour government?

15:37 – We need transparency around Cyprus

24:23 – Mainstream media’s complicity

32:15 – Has the Labour government really shifted?

37:29 – Labour has lost control of the narrative

42:37 – How can the activist space reset their focus

51:42 – How do we recalibrate the Palestinian movement

54:11 – Have people moved on from Gaza?

59:29 – What can we do?

1:04:31 – The role of the Muslim Community

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The US elections are nearly upon us, and we have all be subject to the empty words and rhetoric of of the two main political parties. The Green Party has gained a lot of traction, especially amongst the countries small but very important Muslim community. I have already interviewed the leader of the Greens, Dr Jill Stein. But Today I have the pleasure to speak with Professor Butch Bilal Ware, its Vice Presidential nominee.

Professor Butch Ware is a lifelong activist and educator specializing in the history of empire, colonialism, genocide and revolution. For the past two decades, Ware has put scholarship in service of the people, especially in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as the George Floyd murder in 2020.

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Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

2:00 Embrace Islam at 15

5:00 Malcolm X and radicalism

9:09 Sufis and being radical

13:21 Diluting radical tradition

19:40 Green Party and Liberals

23:25 Green’s and social issues

31:57 Uyghurs and foreign policy

40:06 His political leanings

45:55 Can Muslims work independently

52:44 Voting for Trump

58:31 George Floyd

1:03:32 Fascism in US

1:11:42 Dismantling Empire

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The Abandon Harris campaign has been making waves across the US. It has galvanised largely Muslim and conscientious Americans so build a coalition together to resist the genocidal administration through the ballot box. They have a lot of detractors, paid democratic people ready to defame them. But my guest today is relentless.

Hassan Abdel Salam is one of two founders of the Abandon Harris movement. He is also the Executive Director of the Civil Rights Alliance for America, which is the organization that is organizing and coordinating the Abandon Harris movement. Hassan Abdel Salam has been a professor of strategy, movements, and human rights, for 12 years.

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Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

1:30 – His movements

5:54 – The Greens

9:13 – Is this realistic ?

18:40 – A return to Democrats

23:32 – Trump

28:20 – Are you winning?

35:51 – Is the appeal just Muslim?

43:44 – Speaking truth

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I know that not all Americans value what I have to say on the US elections. However, I do receive many emails and messages daily asking for advice, and my podcast, The Thinking Muslim, has been fairly instrumental in setting the correct intellectual parameters in parts of the US Muslim community when forming a conscious electoral decision on November 5th.

My original position was to echo the views of many leaders within the US Muslim community who have said Muslim voters must disavow the two parties and opt for a third-party option, whoever that may be. But upon reflection, I think that advice, although in the right direction, will not procure the intended result – simply because it will diffuse the messaging of our vote. And thus diffuse its ability to make a statement. That’s why I have concluded that Muslims must vote for the Green Party on November 5th, even if they disagree, as I do, with some parts of their policy platform and public positions.

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The pro-genocide administration of Biden and Harris has been involved in a frenetic outreach to America’s small but vocal Muslim community. These critical constituents in crucial battleground states like Michigan are where November’s election will be won or lost. Both parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are Zionist to their core, but this genocide has happened with the seal of approval and the consent of the Biden-Harris administration.

Is Gaza a turning point? Can we move beyond this two-party nightmare? Are third-party options plausible in a system that approves only two possibilities? Or is voting for anyone but the two bad options a wasted vote? And what of the broader question of the US empire and its propensity to violence? How will this election address what the world observes as an imperium without moral or ethical standards?

Today I have a very special guest, Dr Jill Stein, leader of the Green Party and Presidential candidate. Jill is a Harvard educated doctor, an environmentalist, campaigner and organiser.

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Let me remind all viewers that to help us continue to engage critical thought at this time, Please consider becoming a Patron. https://www.patreon.com/TheThinkingMuslim

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Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

2:00 Is a vote for the Green Party a vote for Trump?

6:27 Voters vs Donors

7:31 Why is Kamala Harris not opposing the Genocide?

9:22 Does the Green Party have a Syria problem?

12:47 Oppressive leaders

14:24 Mehdi Hasan's position on Kamala Harris

20:33 How does voting Green Party help Gaza?

22:00 Green Party being contested

23:30 AIPAC is running America

25:38 The Responsibility of a Third Party

32:41 Building a Third Party for the American people

35:00 Muslims in the Green Party

39:50 5% of The Popular vote

44:46 Dr Stein's vision of American power?

50:59 Where do Ordinary Americans stand?

59:26 It's Not Too Late

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I have been struck by the thoughtful and nuanced conversations that are being had across the US about the coming elections. But there remains confusion. One such community that probably has reason to be sceptical of mainstream Muslim organisations and their approach to politics, as relationships, is the all-important African American Muslim community – very often neglected in any conversation.

I have invited today to show someone who I deeply respect for how he thought through these essential topics long before Gaza came along to haunt us. Imam Dawud Walid is the author of Towards Sacred Activism and an Imam in Michigan.

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We have seen the horrific genocidal scenes unfolding in the north of Gaza and in particular the onslaught by the occupation in Jabaliya. There is a horrendous cleansing of Palestinians, apparently to make way for Israeli settler expansion and cut the territory into two. This is a Nakba but worse. A catastrophe. But the world seems to remain silent. On a deeper level – many are asking when will the help of Allah come? How do we deal with this situation as a personal trauma. 

My guest today, is Imam Fuad Abdo, himself from palestine. Imam Fuad is the imam of Goodmayes Mosque, and someone who I have seen firsthand at the forefront of activism – especially encouragement the encampment movement.

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The US elections are in full flow, with the two big parties focussing on the key swing states that will decide this election. In states like Michigan, a slight movement of voters can determine the outcome. And this means Muslim voters may play a decisive role.

To help us understand the political and intellectual climate, I have invited back onto the show Imam Tom Facchine show. Imam Tom has been instrumental in galvanising Muslims behind the anti-Harris campaign, and he joins us from Pennsylvania.

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Timestamps

0:00 Introduction

2:09 - Mehdi re Trump worse

8:31 – You are supporting Trump

11:43 – Trump vs Harris

17:47 – Lesser of the two evils

22:33 – Emgage and Harris

29:38 – Emgage no excuse

33:08 – Michigan is the showdown

40:46 – Green Party challenges

45:43 – Quantifying our Gaza votes

48:05 – Leverage within Democrats

50:55 – Staying at home

53:20 – US Exceptionalism

57:16 – Liberal ideology

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To help us unpick the relationship between Western foreign policy and media our guest this week is Hamza Yusuf is a British-Palestinian writer and journalist whose work focuses on Palestine. He has reported on daily life under occupation for Palestinians, including home demolitions and forced expulsion and the conditions for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. He is an investigative journalist at Declassified amongst other publications.

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Please subscribe ** Dr Yakoob Ahmed interviews your host, Muhammad Jalal.

The genocide in Gaza and the need for enlightened activism was captured by the guests and content that came out on The Thinking Muslim. We had become accustomed to calls for immediate action, some of which were short-lived. But what The Thinking Muslim did was to place this activism within a sacred responsibility. That's why it captured so many imaginations and activated so many people.

Much of The Thinking Muslim's content has been carefully curated and well thought through, and the guests showcased are amongst the most articulate and thoughtful in their field.

Someone somewhere had the idea that Muhammad Jalal should answer questions from the Thinking Muslim audience, so they asked Dr Yakoob Ahmed to file these questions – and some of my own – to its host.

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Timestamps

0:00 Introduction

2:00 – Feelings?

2:45 – How did you start?

10:00 – Challenges faced

13:55 – The Team

17:50 – How Gaza changed everything

22:10 – Non-Muslim guests?

26:10 – How do you choose guests

29:56 – Pushing back

33:21 – UK elections and Gaza

38:08 – The election strategy

40:12 – Attacks from media

4215 – How invested are you in this system?

46:16 – University scene

49:20 – US elections

51:25 – Why visit the US

53:22 – US Muslims are different

58:16 – Anti- Harris campaign

1:00:07 – Young Muslims

1:01:34 – US empire?

1:03:40 – The left and right

1:10:13 – Islamic alternative

1:14:50 – Unity of Muslims

1:16:40 – Post-Gaza

1:18:40 – Guest selection

1:21:18 – Infantilising young Muslims

1:25:47 Book recommendation

1:28:59 – Dr Aafia Siqqiqui.

1:31:28 – Future of TM

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Is modern society failing our children? Has the quest for constant progress, through the use of technology and the desire to constantly engage our children with stimuli and keep them busy with lives that we have curated for them, been to the detriment of childhood? A recent global childhood report found that British children are the most unhappy in the Western world despite our relative material progress. Yet, there is rarely a conversation about the root causes.

My guest today, Ahmed Paul Keeler, is the AUTHOR OF RETHINKING ISLAM AND THE WEST. And also the author of a soon to be published book titled the Gazan Awakening. He has thought a lot about the issues involved in nurturing a true childhood. How can we resist the excesses of modernity and exhibit the timeless qualities of Islam in our lives?

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0:00 Introduction

2:04 Why is Childhood so important

20:00 Capitalism

25:30 How has childhood been breached

30:27 Teenage angst

41:40 Was it really good in the past?

53:00 Reclaiming Childhood

1:08:39 Motherhood and Fatherhood

1:18:40 The new generation

1:23:00 His new Gaza book

1:31:58 His poem

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Apologies for the slight deterioration in sound, especially in the first 30 minutes of the interview.

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The ongoing slaughter in Gaza and now the carpet bombing of Lebanon has at its backdrop the US elections. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have clearly stated their intentions to back Israel, and it is hard sometimes to place a cigarette paper between them.

So how should American Muslims respond to the genocide. Should they abandon Harris? I am planning to visit the US very soon inshallah and will be meeting with American Muslim leaders and others as I attempt to piece together an answer to these crucial questions. But to begin the conversation, I have invited back onto the show Sami Hamdi to share his thoughts.

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0:00 – Introduction

03:00 Is there a Harris bounce in the polls

07:06 If Harris loses, Zionism loses?

13:34 Why is AIPAC worried?

20:00 Shifting US public opinion

26:58 Muslims in swing states

30:01 Supporting Trump

38:19 Third-party candidates

48:21 Should we endorse Jill Stein

57:39 The lesser of the two evils

1:18:00 Are US Muslims ready for sacrifice

1:39:40 Non-Muslim allies

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Sami Hamdi has been at the fore of the conversation about how Muslims should respond to the unparalleled attack upon Gaza. The brutality with which the Israelis now act with impunity is clear for the majority of the world to see, but the West remains immune to its crimes. That’s partly because the West does not and cannot see Israel as anything but a benevolent project in a region that requires a Western presence. A colony. An imperial parasite whose crimes are erased by those funding its campaign of annihilation. Israel is not, as the conventional wisdom suggests, out of control. It is a project of the West. The West is Israel and Israel is the West. The two are symbiotically linked. Their destiny is one.

This past week, we have seen the latest escalation, the systematic use of communications pagers and walk-in talkies to kill and maim indiscriminately across Lebanon and parts of Syria. The response in much of the Western press has been to praise the action as creative and daring. But what lay behind this escalation, what is Israel’s game plan, and where do the Muslim rulers now sit, almost a year after this act of mass murder?

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0:00 – Introduction

2:20 – Why did Israel do this?

10:25 – Netanyahu’s calculation with Iran

15:14 – Role of the US in this crisis

19:47 – US involvement

22:07 – Iranian restraint

28:05 – How do we view what happened

31:38 – Was Syria US inspired?

38:00 – Did Iran help the Syrians?

46:09 – Saudi Arabia and Normalisation

53:19 – Erdoğan and Türkiye

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The Sunni Shia divide remains an open wound and a means by which our enemies meddle in our internal affairs. Since the war on terror, and the horrible sectarianism unleashed on Iraq, this divide has got even bigger and has often led to bloody violence. However, amidst this turmoil, we often hear voices from within the Ummah and beyond, dreaming of unity to confront the misery, humiliation, and suffering of the oppressed, especially in the current situation with Palestine. But it’s a difficult topic, there are a host of theological and political concerns and the current tussle between Saudi Arabia and Iran makes any talk of reconciliation or an overlapping consensus politically charged.

Dr Suwaidan is a profile writer, speaker, trainer and in many ways has brought much needed intellectual thought to our age.

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0:00 – Introduction

1:55 – Iraq: Framing sectarianism

10:00 – Iran’s Shia exceptionalism

15:30 – Iran and Shia not the same

16:48 – Why do we need unity?

21:03 – Overlapping consensus?

22:06 – How do we do this?

24:32 – Declaring takfir and abuse of companions

31:44 – A major cultural shift?

33:50 – Our enemies using our division

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It is said a people without a past are a lost soul. And in today’s turbulent world, the Muslim ummah has come to realise that we have, in many cases, been taught a version of history that fails to appreciate what the late Shabbir Akhtar called Islam as a imperial faith.

Dr Yakoob Ahmed is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He was until recently a lecturer in Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is a regular to this podcast and writes and lectures extensively on Ottoman history. He is the author of a soon to be published title, Does History Matter – history done islamically - the conversation of today.

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0:00 Introduction

2:00 Gaza at the crossed roads

8:08 History as a vocation

11:08 Islam as an Imperial Faith

14:40 Historians providing solutions

19:48 What are we doing wrong with history?

25:26 Idealism?

32:50 The Quran and History

37:32 Ibn Khuldun’s cyclical theory

43:22 Islam and the production of knowledge

50:40 Fiction and Ertrugul

55:20 Islamic method of history?

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Gaza has been a hurtful experience. This year we saw the passing of a milestone, 100 years without a central leadership. The last Ottoman Caliphate, with all its faults, remained a global force and acted as a shield for this ummah. So why have we declined to such a degree that it seems our leadership is inept and our ummah has not moved over Gaza. And what now can we do about it?

Dr Tareq al-Suwaidan is a prolific writer, speaker, trainer and in many ways has brought much needed intellectual thought to our age.

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0:00 Introduction

2:21 – Why has the ummah not moved?

7:18 – is it s leadership issue

12:10 – Western interference?

14:10 – Excuses of the rulers

17:03 – Decline inevitable?

25:28 – Prophetic method

34:25 – Do we need a new leader?

37:41 – Muslim political unity

42:58 – Poor scholarship

51:55 – Responding to Gaza’s pain

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Today, The United States strides the globe as one of the world's most powerful empires ever witnessed. Its hegemonic ambition, devised after the Second World War and consolidated with the untimely fall of the Soviet Union, knows little limits. With a litany of military bases, a network of alliances, an international economic architecture that places it at the centre of the world economy and enormous structural power in the form of global institutions, its empire is all-encompassing.

My guest this week is Matt Kennard; he argues there is a global network of elites who do the bidding for this empire. While working for the Financial Times as an investigative journalist, he had unbridled access to the crème de la crème of the global elite. He is the author of The Racket, A Rogue Reporter vs the American Empire; Matt is a Co-Founder and head of investigations at Declassified UK.

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For a conscientious Muslim, managing ones money in the West can be a difficult prospect. Islam has a series of rules to do with money, the prohibition of riba (interest) being the key one, and rules on trade that often places it at odds with a rather laissez faire Neo liberal model. Muslims feel a sense of unease when we place our money in banks or engage is investment opportunities that may contravene Islamic precepts.

Our guest today was an Islamic finance industry insider. Harris Irfan is currently the CEO of Cordoba Capital Markets. He has 29 years of investment banking and consulting experience. He was the former co-founder of Deutsche Bank's world-leading Islamic finance team and CEO of Deutsche's Islamic finance subsidiary. He is the Former Global Head of Islamic Finance at Barclays, then Head of Investment Banking for the Rasmala group. He is also the author of "Heaven's Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance", the critically acclaimed best-seller about the Islamic finance industry.

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Until last week, all the talk in the west was that of a developing ceasefire agreement for Gaza. That talk is now about a regional conflict. The lead negotiator, Ismail Haniyah, May Allah have mercy on him and accord to him the status of shahadah, was assassinated in an audacious attack in Tehran. This follows the death of a high-profile commander, Fuad Shukr, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. There are now fears that the conflict will escalate and more directly involve Iran. Already, Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, has talked of revenge, and so have the Iranians.

To help us navigate this evolving crisis, I am pleased to have Dr Azzam Tamimi back on our show. A political analyst and expert in the region and author on a well researched book on the group Hamas. He joins us today online from Jordan,

It must be made clear that this show is an analytical show and in no way represents an acceptance of the tactics and methods of any organisation discussed. It is our editorial decision to engage in a conversation about the current events as an exercise in informing our audience. We remain completely against any tactic that undermines the sanctity of all human life.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

2:00 Why did they escalate at this time

5:44 Iran’s lapse in security

7:20 Iran’s response

10:14 Is Iran serious about resistance

12:05 Netanyahu regional war?

14:05 Trump and Isreal

16:56 Harris and Israel Policy

22:12 Muslims and US elections

24:29 Khalid Mashal

28:04 Ceasefire prospects

29:34 China’s role

32:31 What can we do?

36:58 Ismail Haniyeh

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To help us understand the situation in Bangladesh after the student protests, journalist and commentator Dilly Hussain joins us. Dilly is known for his public engagements, his fearless contribution to Muslim conversation, and his editorship of 5pillars.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 160

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The Quran is the majestic word of Allah (swt), it gives Muslims life. In the Quran, Allah speaks to all human beings and those that read the Quran revere the majesty of its style and prose. Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem is the Professor of Islamic Studies and director of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University, as well as editor of the Journal of Qur’anic Studies. Born in Egypt, he learned the Qur’an by heart during childhood. Haleem has published two translations of the Qur'an including the wonderful The Qur'an: A New Translation (2004).

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This week, I invite Riaz Hasan, an economist and data scientist who has worked with me throughout this period on the elections. Riaz and I worked together over these past weeks to inject some data into the conversation about Muslim electoral weight. He was instrumental in offering the communities advice on moving forward, using the clarity of numbers to run good-quality local campaigns.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 158

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A question many Western analysts have attempted to answer is whether Islam is a political faith. To help us understand the subject, we have invited an Dr. Fadhl Hasan. Dr Fadl is a Co-Founder of the Dar Al Ilm Institute. He was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he memorised the Quran and attained his foundational knowledge of Arabic and Islamic sciences. He runs a publishing solutions company that, in addition to publishing Islamic texts, focuses on the revival and awakening of the Islamic Ummah. His research interests include Usul, Fiqh, and Muamalaat - Islamic Economics.

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Urgent Call: To help leanne’s campaign in the last few days head to https://airtable.com/appE47RFg1wKrv41...

This is probably the most important political campaign in the country. Leanne Mohamad is looking to cause a massive political upset for Labour this election night.

Leanne Mohamad is a British Palestinian organiser and politician who is looking to win a seat in the UK general election on the 4 July. We speak about courage and the need to build a moral and principled politics.

You can read about her pledges here: http://www.leannemohamad.co.uk

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How do we conceptualise where we are, the international situation and what comes next. To help us understand ourselves and the world, we are happy to invite back onto the Thinking Muslim our friend Sami Hamdi.

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At a time when the youth of the world are rising up for Gaza, it is probably not uncontroversial to say that Muslim students on university campuses are lagging behind. Dr. Ayo Khalil is a medical Doctor, community worker, and former student activist who spearheaded student political campaigns against Islamophobia, racism, and Israeli apartheid. He was also a VP at Fosis in 2020, leading their political work.

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Until recently, lawyer Tasnime Akunjee was standing to be an MP in the British Westminster Parliament – standing in the seat of Bethnal Green and Stephney. I say until recently, because in order to prevent a split vote he did the honourable thing and stood down – sparking praise across the country. In Britain’s 4 million strong Muslim community, Tasnime’s behaviour is a model for how we should act – in unison to achieve our ends rather than for our individual ambitions.

Tasnime is a criminal defence lawyer specialising in terrorism. He has defended high profile clients including Shamima Begüm and Jamal Hejazi – who bankrupted Tommy Robinson.

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The Thinking Muslim team was honoured to host this exclusive event at Gatton Road Mosque, London with two lucid and outstanding thinkers. Ahmed Paul Keeler and Imam Tom Facchine discussed Muslims in an Age of Crises.

Recording from 19th April 2024

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Our guest this week has been dismayed at the negative media coverage given to Muslims who place Gaza as a voting concern. Terms like fifth column and insurrectionists have been evoked to claim the Muslim vote should be deeply feared.

Peter Oborne writes principally for the Middle East Eye, among other outlets. His books include "The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth.”

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Dr Amina Shareef is Assistant Professor in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research seeks to understand how Muslim people are unmade as tawhidic subjects—subjects forged in relation to tawhidic worldview in which there is no god but God—and remade as liberal subjects by anti-Muslim racism.

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Imam Tom Facchine is the research director of the Department of Islam and Society at Yaqeen Institute. And a prolific speaker and commentator on Islam and philosophy. He discusses the US empire, American exceptionalism, liberalism and US Muslims abandoning Biden.

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The Labour Party is en route to form the next government of the United Kingdom with what most analysts describe as a landslide majority. The Conservatives have resided over a failed government, with Brexit, economic crisis and poor public services now associated with the Rishi Sunak’s lacklustre government. Labour’s leader, Keir Starmer is comfortably ahead in the polls and it is now openly stated that the tories may be out of government for a generation.

Yet on Gaza, Labour policy has been horrendous. It has given a green light to Israel from the very start of its genocidal campaign, with its frontbenchers including David Lammy, Wes Streeting, Emily Thornberry and Lisa Nandy making it very clear that they supported a siege of Gaza or the absolute right of Israel to self defence. Labour continued this position despite the carnage and despite the interim judgement by the ICJ that clearly stated Israel was committing a plausible genocide.

I have visited many Muslim communities in towns and cities across the UK and it is clear to me that our anger is palpable. There is a consensus forming that we can no longer vote for a party that has given the green light to killing on an industrial scale. To help us make a case against Labour, I have the pleasure today to speak to probably someone who is the most qualified to discuss the party, journalist and commentator  Owen Jones. Owen has been a principled campaigner for Gaza and recently made the unprecedented move to leave Labour. He now calls for an alliance of independents and progressives.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist and the author of a number of book including The Establishment – And How They Get Away With It

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This interview was conducted before the most recent verdict in the High Court rejecting the right of a student to conduct Muslim prayers in British schools.

Over the past few years there has been intense debate about the place of Muslim practice in liberal western societies. Across the west, partly because of the war on terror, politicians talk of unwelcome cultural shifts and the the need to chasten Islam in public life. In many European capitals, theres a debate about whether multiculturalism, a policy coined in the 1960s to integrate migrants, has had its day. Here in Britain, even many on the Labour left today blame the policy for allowing migrants to feel comfortable in their ‘ghettos’ whilst the right wing press talk of ‘no go areas’ and isolationist tendencies. This febrile environment has led to leaders like David Cameron to talk of a muscular liberalism. One that demands much more from those that have origins in other countries.

My guest today is Lord Bikhu Parekh. Bikhu is a champion of a pluralist society, one where liberal dogma makes way for genuine multiculturalism where communities engage in a conversation, embracing the possible cultural shifts that may come with that. Bikhu is the emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Westminster and Hull, a distinguished scholar and prolific writer. Pertinent to today’s interview, he wrote ‘rethinking multiculturalism’.

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You can email Clive on [email protected]

Please send your letters to Clive. Make them more than a couple of lines.

Clive also needs a team of lawyers to help him in Texas.

If you want to help fund Dr Aafia’s legal costs, below is Clive's paypal campaign

https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaig...

The case of Aafia Siddiqui remains an open wound for us all. It symbolises the inhumanity and barbarism of US foreign policy. The incarceration of this brilliant academic and mother of three, has become a marker of its excesses, of which there were many. She languishes in prison, serving an 86-year sentence for an offence that looks barely credible, the attempted murder of two US officials in Afghanistan in 2008. Her whereabouts before that date has been hotly contested, but her lawyers and activists have patched together the conspiracy surrounding Dr Aafias ordeal. Sadly the welfare of her youngest son Suleman – who has not been seen since her detention in 2003 remains unknown. Presumed dead.

The last time I spoke with Dr Aafias lawyer Clive Stafford Smith he had returned from her prison in Forth Worth Texas – where she had been reunited with her sister Fozia for the first time in 20 years. If you haven’t watched that programme, I would highly recommend you do to give you the backstory to this horrific case. Clive has just returned from a factfinsding mission to Afghanistan, and he has some considerable updates on Aafias case.

Clive has helped secure the release of 86 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and still acts for the remaining numbers. Since the early days of the War on Terror, he has worked tirelessly to force the Americans and other Western powers to adhere to the rule of law. He has sought to uncover the secret prisons and ghost prisoners that stain the reputation of powerful states – who presented their wars in benevolent terms.

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The 17th Ramadan marks the most decisive battle in the history of early Islam. Dr Wajid Akhtar, founder of Charity Week for Orphans and Children in Need and Council member of the British Islamic Medical Association discusses the great battle of Badr, the most consequential battle in Islamic history.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode 145

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Every year, the list of beleaguered Muslim countries and people increases, and with it, the demand for charity. We are used to giving in sadaqa – and our kindness as a community is rarely matched. The Muslim community in the UK alone gives upwards of £1bn in charity – much of which goes abroad.

The situation in Gaza has once again led to a determined effort by many to contribute to charitable causes. As Ramadan comes, inevitably, our minds and hearts will turn to those in our umma who live this month with nothing but the clothes on their back; such is the parlous state of Muslims.

But does charity work? What is charity? Is building a water well, however satisfying, the way to reconstruct our Muslim world? Are there better ways by which we can use our money without compromising on our commitment to our people? To help us understand this subject, we have invited a charity insider, probably someone who is most qualified to help us untangle this topic, onto The Thinking Muslim.

Kashif Shabir has over 15 years’ experience in the social impact and charity sector. He was until recently the CEO of Muslim Aid, one of the oldest faith-based NGOs in the UK. He has worked for, and help found several Muslim charities, including The National Zakat Foundation & Charity Right and held leadership positions at some of the largest mainstream charities including as Head of Knowledge and Learning at Oxfam and the British Red Cross, as part of their strategic change management team.

Kashif sits on several advisory boards, including BOND, the largest network of organisations working in international development and Muslim Aid USA. He currently leads the Social Impact Advisory at Qadr Financial and is the founder of Ethical Consulting Group where he works with Charities, Family Offices and Government agencies to improve their effectiveness and maximise their social impact.

Kashif is available for executive coaching and consulting opportunities through the Ethical Consulting website www.ethicalltd.com

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We are in the month of Ramadan where Muslims worldwide share in the simple yet profound act of fasting from dawn to dusk. Our collective commitment to this activity is often met with surprise by others who do not share our faith; how can someone be so devoted to a creator, and why is sacrifice so important to submission? We in the West are often confronted with questions about fasting and Islamic practice in general, and some have found the standard answers insufficient to appease the questioner. In a so-called rational West, where everything has to be justified, many Muslims want to know why. Why do we fast, why do we pray, why is there a Shariah?

To help us navigate the topic of rationality in Islam and how this interacts with Shariah, I am honoured to have on the show Shaykh Hamza Karamali; Shaykh Hamza has studied and mastered the Islamic sciences and Arabic grammar and rhetoric. His institute, Basira Education, aims to address some of the thoughts that undermine confidence in Islam and help the younger generation observe their religion with rational certainty. He has a course currently running on why Islam is true.

You can get Hamza Karamali's FREE Quranic Case for God Video Series. Discover the Quranic rational Argument that will silence any atheist at https://quraniccaseforgod.com/ In 4 short videos you will learn how the argument works, see it being used in the Quran, learn how to apply it to the most common atheist objection and then watch a real world christian-atheist debate, and see how it should have been applied. Go to https://ramadanforever.com/ to learn more.

You can also join him on his Ramadan Forever Challenge to make this Ramadan last forever, with a change that stays with you when Ramadan leaves. A short lesson each day with a simple to implement 3-point action plan that takes only a minute to do, and a success tracker sheet to keep yourself accountable and measure your progress. Find out more at www.RamadanForever.com

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We are all angry. We live in an unjust world. The so-called rules-based system, the rhetoric surrounding human rights, the endless speeches on democracy and freedom – all of it turned out to be hollow. The death and destruction in gaza is juxtaposed with the triviality with which the political elites in the west talk of human life. We are angry. 

How does a Muslim deal with this visceral anger. How do we deal with the inhumanity of these western elites yet stay true to ourselves and who we are? Should we learn to stop being angry and live our lives in a comatose state or utilise this anger in a just direction? 

Today we have Dr Kamal Abu Zahra to help us understand anger from an Islamic perspective.

My guest today is Dr Kamal Abu Zahra is a lecturer in Islamic studies and in Islamic law who has an expertise in the contemporary fiqh. 

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The current slaughter meted out on innocents in Gaza, fully supported Western Governments, is founded upon a bed of lies. It is said that the truth is the first casualty of war, yet in this war the truth is not hidden –the decapitated bodies, crushed skulls, emaciated children, the callous shelling of hungry souls as they clamour for flour – all of this is known to the world and there remains little doubt that what we are witnessing is truly horrific. Yet the Israeli counter-narrative looks to subvert this truth; these images they claim, however regrettable, are the result of such a heinous crime that they are necessary for rooting out the evil. The Gazan women and children are no more than collateral damage. I have argued that what the hypocritical West fails to see is that for every soul whose death they manufacture, the very edifice upon which they claim a moral high ground is crumbling.

My guest today, Ahmed Paul Keeler argues in a provocative and beautifully written piece that narratives matter. This is why millions are spent on spinning a story about the state of Israel and the traducing the claims of Palestinians. Today we take a forensic look at these narratives.

His powerful article is available on Jalal's newsletter jalalayn.substack.com

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At the time where our attention is fixed on Gaza, rightly, another conflict is taking place with horrendous cost to human life. Sadly As always, our ummah has become subject to the political ambitions of egotistical actors and their outside backers. Sudan is burning. There are 8 million people on the move, escaping the indiscriminate murder, rape and pillage of what can only be described as two warlords that thwarted a people’s revolution – aided by external powers.

Today we explore these two conflicts. In a way, they are one. They are recent episodes of a Muslim world in crisis. Our ummah today lives in a perpetual state of conflict, can we escape this dire situation. We are now 100 years since the formal demise of the Ottoman state, what does the next 100 years look like.

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Sami Hamdi for the past five months has helped us untangle and understand the motives and actions of the actors that wage genocide in Gaza. The conflict, if that is even a proper term to use, seems to be continuing despite discussions of an end game. At the time of recording this interview, we have heard from Joe Biden casually licking an ice cream and talking of ceasefires when tens of thousands starve in Northern Gaza. The callousness with which the west now talk of mopping up a crime scene is staggering. How can a liberal west, fixated on preaching rights have maintained this collective pretence?

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We had a problem with our guest’s audio this week. Apologies for this, we wanted to however get this episode out.

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This past few weeks in Pakistan have been a rollercoaster ride. We have seen the continued, brazen army interference in elections that for so long has earned the country the dubious title of possessing a ‘sham democracy’. The country’s elected leader, Imran Khan, is languishing in prison on what are trumped-up charges and hundreds of his party members have been chased, arrested and incarcerated by what can only be described as the deep state apparatus.

Election day was a sham. And it seems the army’s designated successors are about to take their positions. But, often, what is on the surface may conceal deeper facts. Today we have political analyst Kashif Gilani from Islamabad to discuss the situation.

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Our guest this week, Dr Sohail Hanif, argues that we need to reconnect with not just our relationship with our umma but also have to reorient our lives to live like the murabitun of the past, those who saw themselves as within a wider objective of thinking about deen and the umma and their part within this rubric. In this endeavour, to change our mentality, we have to reconfigure how we view some of the fundamental Islamic ideas of zakat, ummah and jihad. Are we in the west manning an outpost of this umma. And has Gaza taught us a wider lesson about reorienting our mentalities. 

Dr Sohail is the National Zakat Foundation’s Chief Executive. Prior to this, he held the position of Lecturer at Cambridge Muslim College. He also was the Head of Sciences at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman. He has expertise in Islamic law, having studied extensively with traditional scholars, and holds a PhD from Oxford University. Listen to the audio version of the podcast:

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How do we learn from the wisdom of others in a world intent on ruthless autonomy? Today, with the Gaza war as our backdrop, we ask Dr Yakoob Ahmed what pieces of advice he would give to his 18-year-old self.

Dr Yakoob Ahmed is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He is a PhD graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies and currently teaches Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is in the process of completing his first book on the late Ottoman ulema, to be published next year.

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The recent ICJ interim order has been interpreted in many ways by its proponents, who hail it a victory and its opponents, who denounce it as an Israeli conspiracy. However, many have questioned the efficacy of the interim order, pointing to the ICJ’s lack of enforcement and the absence of an explicit mention of a ceasefire. To help us understand the complexities surrounding the judgement, we have invited, at short notice, Tayab Ali in once again.

Tayab Ali, is a lawyer specialising in international law. He is a partner at the legal firm Bindmans. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights and at international political and legal institutions, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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When we consider the ongoing slaughter that is Gaza and the West's complicity, it's not the world leaders, East or West, who have captured our collective imagination – it's the ordinary people who have made the difference. It's the journalists, poets – the doctors and nurses that have helped the world see the atrocities of settler colonialism and its abject violence. Certainly, a defused media has given the world, possibly for the very first time, the ability to witness the horrors of Israel – but it is people like my guest today who have been able to articulate a narrative that rises above the deliberate propaganda that passes as commentary.

Professor Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a multi-award-winning Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. He has worked in multiple war zones, including Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Gaza. He was, until recently, working to save lives in Gaza’s war ravaged and ill-equipped hospitals.

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Zionism is the ideology that underpins the barbarism that has been meted out on Palestinians, its latest chapter being the slaughter that is currently happening in Gaza. Yet its ideals remain respectable in establishment circles. In the United States, political leaders fall over one another to declare their un denying loyalty to the creed and in Britain, there has been a long tradition of Christian Zionism that spans back to the early twentieth century and the Balfour Declaration. 

 Ahmed Paul Keeler. He argues that Zionism has become embedded into the Western mindset through education and culture. It relies upon a Darwinian hierarchy that places Europeans at the top and Arabs and others as savages and less human, terms that have been uttered in recent events with greater frequency. Ahmed was born in 1942 and was brought up in a conservative upper-middle class Anglo Catholic family. He belonged to a generation that was brought up to serve the British empire. Ahmed Keeler is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, and was a Distinguished Fellow at The Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia in 2016.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode133

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Today, we are confronting nothing short of a campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians of Gaza, not seen since the Nakba or Catastrophe of 1948. Yet many in the Western world are silent to the suffering. Much of what justifies Israel and its actions in the West is premised on history, and many European and American historians have been ready to present a compelling argument for Zionism and the case for Israel in the heart of the Middle East.

This historical justification, based on persecution and antisemitism, gives the story of Israel a potency that has for many years served to find acceptance in the West – of impunity to act without restraint - that is not offered to any other state. At the same time, the Palestinian story has been undermined by these same historians. They were a Bedouin community, readily able to vacate their land – it is said. Palestinians, according to leading Israeli politicians, is a mythical people.

Today, we are honoured to have Professor Avi Shlaim with us to untangle historical facts from fiction. Avi Shlaim is an eminent historian. He is an Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University and the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (2014) and Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations (2009). Professor Shlaim is a dual Israeli British citizen who lived in the country as a child. His family originated from Iraq and migrated to the newly founded state in 1950.

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We have now passed three months of the Gaza slaughter, and according to the UN, Gaza has become uninhabitable. During these past few days, we have seen another frenetic series of diplomatic meetings by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in the region as the US looks to consolidate the status quo. The genocidal intent of the Israeli state. If it was unclear at the start of the conflict, it is clear now that the United States has given the green light to the Israelis to mete out their punishment. The Arab and Muslim states have, it seems, mostly acquiesced with the US. In public, they condemn, whereas in private, they look the other way or, in the case of Egypt, conspire with the US and Israel to make sure Gaza’s resistance is erased. We have, however, seen signs, that can be interpreted as further escalation. The Houthis in Yemen have now accosted over 20 ships in the Red Sea, and on Lebanon's southern border, there remains an active engagement with Israeli soldiers.

To help us understand the complexities of the current crisis, I have invited Sami Hamdi back into the studio. Sami is the director of the International Interest, a risk advisory.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode130

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In the long durée of Islamic history, we often lose sight that every generation, even the best generation, that of the companions, had deep challenges to overcome. Our enemies have continuously worked to undermine our unity, and it is often the hard lessons of these challenges that help us overcome our petty disputes and territorial differences. This episode we focus on the notion of unity and its real implications. If we agree the lack of Muslim unity is holding us back – how do we overcome this challenge? And are we destined to slide into further decline? And is their hope in this crisis?

Dr Omar Suleiman is the founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute.

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** This interview was recorded a few hours before South Africa initiated its ICJ case - the Genocide Convention is discussed in detail here.

When we consider the disgraceful actions of the Israeli state, it becomes evident that they operate in a system of impunity.

But what, if anything, can we do about this? My guest today, Tayab Ali, is a lawyer specialising in criminal trials. He is a partner at the legal firm Bindmans. He has been described as “an irresistible force – he’s fearless.” He is rated as a Super Lawyer by Thompson Reuters and recognised in Civil Liberties by The Legal 500. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights and at international political and legal institutions, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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The events in Gaza, the horrific slaughter of over 20,000 Gazans remains a deep wound all people of conscience have had to contend with over the past two months. The callous way with which the lives of young innocents can be so openly calculated and traded is shocking yet predictable in equal measure. Much of what has happened is premised on a set of collective myths the west has attempted to perpetuate about Israel and its intentions. A compliant media and a political class that have provided a thin veneer of acceptability to Israel’s murderous rampage has all but shattered the myth that the west holds the moral high ground.

Today forensically explore the myths that surround the current crisis. To help us understand the situation better we have back onto the show Dr Azzam Tamimi who is a Palestinian British academic, author of Hamas the unwritten chapter.

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#thethinkingmuslimpodcast episode127

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The plight of the Uyghur Muslims in East Turkestan has been described as a genocide. An entire ethnic, cultural and religious group is being erased. We hear stories of mass detention, the banning of Ramadan, and the closure and demolition of mosques. We also hear the disturbing reports of women being forced into marriage, forced sterilisation and children being removed from families and reassigned to Chinese couples.

But at the same time, people question these accounts. There is a disinformation campaign on social media and diplomatic circles, and many, even some government-paid Islamic scholars, have questioned the extent of the persecution, if not the persecution itself, especially since the Biden administration has adopted it as a cause, as part of their fight against an emerging geopolitical rival. So how do we know what to believe. Today we are joined by Abdureşid Eminhaci , he is the Secretary General of International union of The East Turkestan organisation, one of the largest Uyghur organisations in Turkey.

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As the unrelenting Gaza killing of civilians continues unabated, another potential ethnic cleansing in Palestine is underway – again in plain sight. The gradual conquest of Palestinian land is continuing at pace. Armed Israeli settlers, with the full backing of the state, pillage and forcibly vacate entire villages and farming communities. Yet the international community remains mute. This is ethnic cleansing on two fronts.

Today, we have back on The Thinking Muslim. Journalist, author, and public commentator Peter Oborne recently returned from a visit to the West Bank. Peter is almost unique in the mainstream media for being someone who has consistently called out the marginalisation of the Muslim community, both here and abroad. Peter principally writes for the Middle East Eye, amongst other outlets. His books include ‘The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth”.

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This past week, the world has reflected on the death of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. As Nixon's national security advisor, he was notorious for his ultra-realist approach to international politics, which saw the policy of triangulation with China and the Soviet Union that was pivotal in bringing China into the Western sphere and ultimately helping the emerging economy become a global power. But also the carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia, in a failed attempt to solicit concessions from the North Vietnamese. Such unscrupulous foreign policy is again on display over Gaza. The silence with which the Western powers have embraced the slaughter and the tacit, if not open, approval of Israel's behaviour evokes a long-standing memory in the global south about a racist colonial logic. Today, we would like to explore this with our very own elder statesman', Dr Mahathir Mohamed.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister for some 22 years. He has stewarded Malaysia through a difficult period; today it is a thriving economy. He came back to power briefly after winning a resounding victory in 2018. Dr Mahathir has seen first-hand in his 98 years the rise of America and the establishment of Israel, but also the sorry state of much of our ummah - and today, we would like to tap into his extensive knowledge and wisdom.

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The events of the past 6 weeks have exposed the sheer double standards that apply to the implementation of international law. The so-called liberal international order has been found to be nothing short of hypocritical. Gaza has exposed not only this duplicity but also the very ideas that undergird such a system. Today, we explore these ideas. Many surmise that the West has taken a wrong turn, and if only they return back to their original noble enlightenment values. Yet Gaza unveils a more unsettling truth. That the values of secular liberalism have always remained connected to European chauvinism. Their unbridled support for a settler colonial project and the ease with which they absorb genocide reveals the unsettling nature of liberalism. This is the argument of my guest today, Hasan Spiker.

Hasan Spiker is a philosopher and comparative scholar of Islamic, Greek, and modern thought he studied at the University of Cambridge, where he received his MPhil in philosophy and where is carrying out his doctoral research. He also studied the Islamic sciences. His new book, Hierarchy and Freedom: An Examination of Some Classical Metaphysical and Post-Enlightenment Accounts of Human Autonomy, was released this year.

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Wadah Khanfar is the President of Al Sharq Forum and former Al Jazeera Director General from 2003 to 2011.

Gaza has been described as a graveyard of children. But it also represents a graveyard of the liberal world order. The very values that undergird this so-called rules-based system have been revealed for what they really are — a set of norms created to preserve the interests of the West. Their unrepentant support for the worst crimes of Israel, the brutality of indiscriminate bombings, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the carpet bombings of entire neighbourhoods, and the use of the most wicked weaponry – without even the slightest murmur from Western capitals have consolidated a new consciousness.

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Come election time, Western Muslim communities have been asked to support mainstream political parties in exchange for representation. Some commentators have praised the multiculturalism of countries like the UK, where the party system has integrated many Muslims into the political system. Here in London, we have Sadiq Khan, arguably the highest-ranking elected Muslim official in the Western world. In the United States, there’s a similar push for Muslims to support the Democrats and even the Republicans, and some have broken the glass ceiling and represent the parties at local and national levels.

But does Muslim representation really work? On Gaza, we have seen the limits of the ‘Muslim voice’. What are the structural compromises the system will always want to solicit from Muslim representatives? Does the system only support particular types of candidates, and does the system change the people who set out to change the system?

To explore this topic, I have with me in the studio today Dr Asim Qureishi. Dr Asim Qureshi is the research director at CAGE, a UK-based advocacy organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror. He has a background in International Law and is the author of the books "Rules of the Game" and "A Virtue of Disobedience".

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Since we last spoke to Sami Hamdi, a lot has happened in the ongoing Gaza slaughter. Israel has finally moved its ground operations into Gaza, and their Western backers have set down their intention to provide diplomatic cover to their settler offshoot and shield it from criticism. Western leaders have had to defend the indefensible as Israel's punitive and indiscriminate action continues. For example, Ursula Vonderlyen, the President of the EU Commission, just yesterday sent out a tweet at a holocaust memorial saying never again. Yet, the day before, she met with an Israeli official and gave her undying commitment to his cause, such is their barefaced duplicity.

Calls for a ceasefire have been vetoed at the UN, and the West accepts no liability for the thousands murdered in cold blood. It is truly astonishing to see how liberals on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed what most of us have known for a long time: that their so-called rules-based international order is set up to cover their brutality. It is not that they kill civilians without any recourse to humanity. It's that they openly declare their mass murder with knowledge of impunity. The West has given them diplomatic cover to engage in slaughter without red lines. This is truly an age of impunity.

Sami Hamdi is the director of international interest and a regular commentator on mainstream news networks.

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The death toll in Gaza has reached above 10,000, yet the so-called international community, in reality, the Western nations, are deaf to the cries under the rubble. The Israeli war machine no longer worries about redlines as they act in complete impunity. If the hypocrisy of the West was not evident before this crisis, it is clear now that the Liberal World Order was never meant to safeguard the lives and honour of those it deems lesser people.

Amr Abdul Latif was, until recently, a resident and citizen of Gaza. He came to the UK to study for his postgraduate degree at St Andrews University and now works as a software developer. The Western press, even those that show little empathy, present the people of Gaza as lesser human beings who do not have dreams and aspirations. Who are either to be pitied or presented as subhuman. I want to understand what life has been like since 2007, when Israel announced its siege and what the average Gaza actually believes.

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As the Israeli war machine is in full motion, the position of the West lays bare the hollowness of its claims to observe international law. With every US-manufactured bomb dropped on Gaza, the vacuousness of its liberal world order is exposed to Muslims and the world. Yet what can we do about this situation? Lately, many governments have queued up to sign the so-called Abraham Accords with the apartheid state, and it has been concluded that the Arabs no longer care for the Palestinian cause. Today, we get a real feel for the ‘Arab street’ and what Palestine means to Muslims in the region. 

Our guest this episode is Dr. Tareq Suwaidan. He is the CEO and owner of Gulf Innovation Group in Kuwait and was the General Manager of Al-Resalah Satellite TV - ranked among the highest in the Middle East.He holds a PhD from the University of Oklahoma and lived in the United States for 20 years.Dr. Tareq Suwaidan is recognised as one of the most popular Islamic speakers in the Arab world and was named among the 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2022. Dr. Suwaidan authored more than 100 books on Islam and history. He uses the seerah as a source for leadership and strategic skills. He has trained more than 100,000 students in Management & Leadership skills, established 5 American and Canadian schools, and boasts over 18 million followers on social media.

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Our guest this week is Dr Kamal Abu Zahra is a lecturer in Islamic studies and in Islamic law who has an expertise in the contemporary fiqh

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It is easy to feel a sense of gloom. The world has come together against us. Some, particularly those who are not tested like the Palestinians, may even have doubts about their Islam – impacting their basic iman. Some call for compromise with the perpetrators or, worse still, call for normalisation. We explore the concepts and emotions that form the backbone of what it is to be a believer.

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The anger we feel from Israel’s continued barbarous shelling of Gaza cannot be put into words. The impunity with which it acts and the green light given by the west just reminds us that the so-called rules-based order is setup to serve the West. With all this in mind, young people in particular are being reminded daily that Palestinian activism is viewed with suspicion by education authorities. In the UK, the government has mooted that flying the Palestinian flag could be supporting terror and its Prevent laws make it extremely difficult for our youth to voice even their support for our ummah, lest they are investigated for links to extremism. To help parents and young people understand how to navigate this minefield.

Dr Layla Aitlhadj, has been a tenacious campaigner to expose how the government has violated the most basic rights of ordinary Muslim citizens. Her organisation Prevent Watch has helped countless Muslim families caught up in this net of accusations. Her diligence and assiduous approach to prevent cases has helped shine a light on how destructive this policy is.

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When we consider the stance of the West over Israel’s actions these past weeks, many point out the blatant hypocrisy in applying their standards. We are constantly told that human rights are inviolable, that freedom of speech is sacrosanct, and that people have the right to self-determination. Westerners sermonise about how Muslims should embrace democratic norms. They pontificate about the rules-based liberal world order, where rules are applied fairly and equally. Yet, in these past weeks, anyone with a conscience would note that these calls ring hollow. We all can see this hypocrisy. But are the West negligent of their ideals? Are they acting in contrary to their liberal values. It is said if only they were brought to the right path once again.

Imam Tom Facchine argues the West is acting perfectly in line with their worldviews. Imam Tom Facchine finished his BA in Political Science and was granted the opportunity to study at the Islamic University of Madinah from 2015-2020, where he obtained his BA from the Faculty of Shariah. Imam Tom is the Research Director of Islam and Society at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He is also a resident scholar and imam of Utica Masjid (New York state).

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This episode was filmed a week ago before the grave atrocities including the slaughter at Al Ahli hospital. The Western propaganda machine is in full motion. Israel, aided by the west are conditioning western public opinion for the effective expunging of Gaza from the map. This slow, steady war machine is exceptionalising Palestinian violence, real or concocted, to further its aims. This is the Iraq war all over again.

To help us understand this subtle propaganda machine it is a pleasure to have Moazzam Begg on the show. Moazzam Begg is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee and senior director for the UK-based campaign group CAGE.

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The inhuman aggression by which Israel treats Palestinians is known to everyone who possesses an ounce of justice. This excludes, of course, Western nations for whom, apparently, history began last Saturday. However, they are very aware that the colonial outpost they set up in the Middle East is hell-bent on extracting as much land as possible to accommodate racist Americans and Europeans. They are aware that in the process, Israel slowly squeezes Palestinians and of the daily humiliations – the trigger-happy border guards that maim and murder. They know all of this yet remain deaf to the cries. They give the murderous state weapons of war, instruments of torture, and diplomatic cover. Just this past week, the main political parties on both sides of the Atlantic were falling over each other to give Israel the green light. In an age of impunity, Israel has a free pass. 

But what lay behind the events last week, and what can we expect in the coming weeks from regional and international actors? To help us untangle the political issues, we once again invite Sami Hamdi back on the programme. Sami Hamdi is the managing director of the International Interest and a ME commentator. 

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How do we revive a strong thinking scholarly tradition?

Our guest this week is Dr. Shuayb Wani, he is the Director and Co-Founder of the Dār Al ‘Ilm Institute https://daralilm.org. His course on the Islamic worldview is currently running and is available online. He grew up in Indian occupied Kashmir and started his quest to learn Islamic ‘Ulūm during his schooling years. He completed his foundational Islāmic Studies in India, and Al-Azhar University, Egypt. He devoted 10 years studying advanced Islāmic Studies specializing in Usūl al-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.

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.........................

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The 80's movie Terminator depicts a bleak world where a cyborg assassin is sent to the past to eliminate the mother of an unborn child who holds the key to humanity's salvation. The frightening prospect of machines that can teach themselves and, in the worst-case scenario, machines that are more intelligent than human beings has led senior scientists to raise the alarm about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence and its potential destructive force. For Muslims, AI raises many ethical questions about human society, the economy and, indeed, the potential for AI-inspired ijtihad, machines that tell us how to live our Islamic lives. Are scholars and orators about to go out of business as might taxi drivers and couriers in the coming technological age. 

To help us understand the world of AI, we have invited Riaz Hassan onto The Thinking Muslim. Riaz is works in the field of innovation for many years and has had direct and extensive experience in the use of AI and the commercial use of ChatGPT. He has worked on using AI and robotics on one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country. He has responsibility for looking at the wider dimensions of innovations with its associated impacts on our economy.

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 112

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction

02:40 - Should we be afraid of AI?

03:38 - What is AI?

05:53 - What differentiates AI from other technology?

07:15 - Types of AI 

08:15 - What is generative AI?

10:08 - What is AGI? (Artificial General Intelligence)

11:57 - What to expect after ChatGPT?

14:13 - The issue with driverless cars 

15:40 - Imam Ghazali's version of the trolley problem

18:02 - Islamic values in AI

22:08 - Dystopian features of AI

26:50 - America vs. China

29:29 - What professions are going to be replaced?

34:34 - Labour and economy 

38:48 - Redefining work

44:26 - Concerns around AI

49:08 - AI in the wrong hands?

51:04 - AI in warfare 

53:04 - Can AI do ijtihad?

57:33 - Can acquire consciousness?

1:01:25 - Why AI cannot replace human intelligence 

1:06:10 - Tackling crises in faith 

1:07:01 - Can a supercomputer become Khalifa?

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To help us understand the great Salahuddin, I have invited Dr Abdul Rahman Azzam onto the show. Dr. Azzam has authored several books, including Saladin: The Triumph of the Sunni Revival. He is a scholar specialising in Islamic history, and we are grateful for his time today.

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Modernity brings with it the promise that ultimate truth can come through reason – a reason that often excludes believers as outside the realm of thinking. Liberalism places religion in a ‘non-reasoned’ bucket, which should be tolerated like all other irrational but ultimately comforting lifestyle choices. This is primarily why there is general animus against anyone who displays an over-exuberance towards belief systems. Such people are described as fundamentalists, unthinking and unable to make their own rational choices. 

Our guest this week, Jamie Turner is no stranger to these arguments. He is currently pursuing his doctoral research at the University of Birmingham, looking at Ibn Taymiyyah and natural theology.

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 109

00:00 Introduction

02:11 The idea of fitra 

04:47 Fitra from a cognitive pov

05:19 Theistic disposition as natural

12:25 Nature of theistic faculty 

13:30 The Mu'tazilite view 

14:43 The Hadith about fitra

18:00 Role of environment 

20:36 Our role as agents 

22:05 The limits of fitra

24:00 Role of revelation

25:41 Convert vs. revert 

28:42 Moral intuition 

30:35 Journey to Islam 

33:38 The role of reason 

38:48 Obligation to use reason 

45:33 Too much thinking?

47:52 Learning to reason well 

49:27 Studying philosophy 

51:50 Fitra and moral judgements 

53:42 Dawah 

55:37 Evidence for God

57:28 Signs in nature and humans 

1:00:57 Responding to Stephen Fry

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It is no exaggeration to say that in their quest to malign Islam, some in the West target Muslim women. Her position within the family, her place in society and, of course, her dress are placed under the microscope – and like colonialists in the days of empire, her emancipation is seen to be a means to a greater Islamic reformation. In recent days, France’s minister of education has announced that Abayas, the loose dress many Muslims wear for modesty, will be banned from schools. Apparently, a piece of clothing is an affront to French secularism and, yet again, another sign of separatism. In the UK, the former prime minister likened burka-wearing Muslim women is a those who chose to look like letterboxes and bank robbers.

Young Muslim women are subject to a barrage of what can only be called propaganda, traducing their religious dress and promising to liberate them from their religion. To help us understand how this works and to caution against some of the extremes by which the community can handle this onslaught.

Lauren Booth is a broadcaster turned activist and author. She is known for her principled activism on Palestine and regularly comments on Muslim affairs. Her book, In Search for the Holy Land is available to purchase from all good book stores.

You can find her book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/In-Search-of-Holy-Land/dp/1739384113/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LLEMY7MPD86N&keywords=in+search+of+a+holy+land&qid=1692958858&sprefix=in+search+of+a+holy+land%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1

Her social media here: Lauren Booth: IG/Facebook: @laurenboothofficial. Website: www.laurenbooth.co.uk

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 109

00:00 Introduction

02:20 On Nicky Campbell's review

05:50 Onslaught against Muslim women

07:58 Obsession with women's dress

10:45 Societal Pressure

11:32 Criminalising young Muslim men

13:20 A deliberate agenda

15:38 Navigating the noise around the hijab

19:49 Modernist interpretations of scripture

22:53 Progressive gender ideologies

24:06 How secular society judges women

26:35 Women in Muslim societies

29:52 Muslims leaving the West

34:11 Making the move

36:38 Gender roles

39:17 Living feminism

44:25 Gender wars

46:50 Hyperindividualism

49:43 British politics post Iraq war

51:22 Attending a Muslim event

55:22 Why write a memoir

58:10 Palestine and Isreal

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The so-called Abraham Accords, delivered by the Trump Administration and embraced by Biden, has solidified Israel’s position in the Middle East. To date, normalisation has been enthusiastically embraced by the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. But the United States knows that the ‘prize’ is Saudi Arabia. In recent weeks the mood music has been positive for Americans. It is suggested a deal may be concluded very soon, with the de-facto Saudi leader Muhammad Bin Salman holding out for concessions before he signs on the dotted line.

Our guest this week is Sami Hamdi, the Managing Director of the International Interest, a global risk and intelligence company. He advises governments on the geopolitical dynamics of Europe and the MENA region and has significant expertise in advising companies on commercial issues related to volatile political regions. Sami is also featured as a commentator for Al Jazeera (Arabic and English), Sky News, BBC and TRT World.

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 108

00:00 Introduction

01:57 Response from last interview

04:59 Importance of political awareness

07:49 Aims of Israel

16:10 Defacto Normalised?

24:20 Commitment to Palestinians?

30:46 Anger on Muslim streets?

36:07 Saudi security aims

45:30 Saudi autonomous?

51:49 US Saudi-China relations?

58:30 US retreat?

1:03:57 Erdogan and Israel

1:11:58 Erdogan’s tactics?

1:16:55 Palestinians?

1:24:41 How important is Palestine?

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Muslims worldwide have come to the realisation that the prevailing capitalist economic system does not serve us ethically. With its interest-based banking and casino-style financial instruments, a devout believer has no choice but to attempt to escape its haram, even if that hinders the progress and prosperity of our daily lives. In recent years, Islamic finance has been touted as an ethical alternative. A way to escape the haram riba based economy. Some have even presented it as an alternative to financial capitalism. The rationale behind these products is to accommodate the detailed Shariah rulings on trade and many Islamic scholars have endorsed products that Western financial institutes and governments have embraced. Our guest today was an Islamic finance industry insider. Harris Irfan is currently the CEO of Cordoba Capital Markets https://www.ccmkts.com. He has 29 years of investment banking and consulting experience. He was the former co-founder of Deutsche Bank's world-leading Islamic finance team and CEO of Deutsche's Islamic finance subsidiary. He is the Former Global Head of Islamic Finance at Barclays, and then Head of Investment Banking for the Rasmala group. He is also the author of "Heaven's Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance", the critically acclaimed best-seller about the Islamic finance industry.

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India’s 200 million Muslims are at the mercy of an ultra-nationalist government that looks to create an exclusively Hindu Bharat or homeland. Since the rise of the BJP government, led by Narendra Modi, Muslims have been subject to discrimination, alienation, daily religious abuse, economic marginalisation, state-sanctioned mob violence and pogroms like in Gujarat in 2002. This Hindu nationalism is underpinned by a pernicious cultural and political ideology, Hindutva, framed by antagonism towards Islam and a rewriting of Indian history.  

Our guest this week, Professor Irfan Ahmed, will help us understand the precarious state of India’s Muslims and the Hindutva ideology. Born in India,  he now lives in Istanbul, where he is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Ibn Haldun University. Before Istanbul, he was a research professor in Germany at Max Plank Institute, and he has taught anthropology and politics in the Netherlands and Australia. He has written numerous books and articles on India and Islam and recently published a provocative piece on Hindu Orientalism.

You can also watch this programme on Youtube

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Japan is a country that is known for its deep connection with tradition. Much of its rich culture comes from its adherence to two religious beliefs, Shintoism and Buddhism but it has also been influenced by Confucianism. The Japanese value purity and cleanliness. Unlike western individualism, Japanese culture places a great deal of attention on the group and mutual respect with a strong emphasis on harmony and balance. Although globalisation has brought with it westernisation, there is still an emphasis on learning Japanese customs at an early age, such as practicing the tea ceremony, wearing kimono and studying arts and crafts. Our guest today, Dr Naoki Yamamoto converted to Islam 14 years ago. He is now an academic at Istanbul’s Marmara University and helps a growing number of Japanese converts acclimatise to their Islamic commitments. Many of whom attend classes in this city. Dr Naoki argues that for Islam to be successful in Japan, it needs to work in harmony with Japanese culture. Indeed he is known in Istanbul for demonstrating the tea ceremony. We discuss Muslim converts in Japan and the themes he raises of cultural harmony and Islam. Can Islam adopt the cultural heritage of Japan?Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate⁠⁠

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There is a growing interest in Ottoman history. This has come from a recognition that an understanding of our Islamic history is necessary to carve our common Islamic future. But then the question arises, who writes this history? How do we know whether Ottoman historians, East and West, are purveyors of an orientalist narrative, slanted to match political interests? To untangle the facts from fiction, we have invited Dr Yakoob Ahmed who is an academic specialising in late Ottoman history. He is a PhD graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies and currently teaches Islamic history at Istanbul University. He is in the process of completing his first book on the late Ottoman ulema, to be published next year.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate⁠⁠

Find us on:Twitter: https://twitter.com/thinking_muslimFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Thinking-Muslim-Podcast-105790781361490Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingmuslimpodcast/Telegram: https://t.me/thinkingmuslim Host: https://twitter.com/jalalaynWebsite Archive: https://www.thinkingmuslim.com#TheThinkingMuslimPodcast

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You can write to Dr Aafia via her lawyer on email [email protected]

The deadline for the first round of letters is 1/8/23 - you can still send letters after this date for future visits.

Please place in the subject of the email: Thinking Muslim letter for Aafia.Clive has set up a crowdfunding page for a monthly standing order/debit for Aafia; this is to pay for a young Pakistani researcher to help on the case and to fund the trips to the US etc. Use -  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/freeaafia/backers#startAlthough the war on terror is now a distant memory to many Americans, it’s horrible residue remains. The incarceration of Aafia Siddiqui, a brilliant academic and mother of three, has become a symbol of its excesses, of which there were many. She languishes in prison, serving an 86-year sentence for an offence that looks barely credible, the attempted murder of two US officials in Afghanistan in 2008. Her whereabouts before that date remain murky, and so does the welfare of her youngest son Suleman – who has not been seen since her detention in 2003. To help us unpick the facts, we have invited Aafias lawyer Clive Stafford Smith to shed light on what happened to Aafia and her children. Clive has helped secure the release of 86 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay and still acts for the remaining numbers. Since the early days of the War on Terror, he has worked tirelessly to force the Americans and other Western powers to adhere to the rule of law. He has sought to uncover the secret prisons and ghost prisoners that stain the reputation of powerful states – who presented their wars in benevolent terms.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate⁠⁠
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France’s estimated six million strong Muslims are subject to daily inhuman treatment at the hands of a militant secular state. Islam as a faith has long been traduced and othered, exceptionalised as a religion that must be chastened by French enlightenment. It is this context that we observe with horror the recent episode of brutality. Seventeen year old Nahel Merzouk was killed at point blank range for a minor traffic infraction. His death, normally another statistic, was caught on camera and led to days of protests and rioting. To help us make sense of this tragic week, we have invited back onto The Thinking Muslim Rayan Freschi. Rayan is a legal expert and researcher for Cage International and he has recently authored a disturbing report on the French government’s policy of “systematic obstruction” of the Muslim community. He recently wrote a piece for Middle East Eye analysing these tragic events.

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Many Muslims living in the West have become aware that the ideas of tolerance, individualism, liberal multiculturalism and freedom of religion – all liberal notions — have their limits when it comes to our community. A series of tensions, from depictions of the Messenger (saw) in offensive cartoons and the teaching of sexual practices at odds with our faith in schools, has brought into focus how there remains an incompatibility between the ever-increasing demands of the liberal state and the Muslim community. To help us understand these tensions, Imam Tom Facchine, an imam and convert to Islam helps us understand the liberal state. He finished his BA in Political Science and was granted the opportunity to study at the Islamic University of Madinah from 2015-2020, where he obtained his BA from the Faculty of Shariah. Imam Tom is the Research Director of Islam and Society at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. He is also a resident scholar and imam of Utica Masjid (New York state).

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The issue of the caliphate has recently made a resurgence within Muslim discourse. For nearly 100 years the Muslim ummah has been without a caliphate, and many have come to the view that the world of empires is behind us, and we now must embrace the era of nation-states. Yet the issue remains a live one, Islam and Muslims have remained tortured by our lack of ability to resolve some of the most intractable problems we face – leading to the suggestion that establishing a post-nation state brings together our resources, people and potential. Dr. Uthman Badar has been thinking about the concerns of the caliphate. He is the lead editor at the Ummatics Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Western Sydney University in 2023, where he currently teaches. He is also an active Muslim community member in Sydney, Australia, with over two decades of engagement in grassroots activism and da’wah.

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For twenty years, the United States fought an unwinnable and ultimately self-defeating war in Afghanistan – only to withdraw in a humiliating way in 2021. The conflict ended what many saw to be a colonial enterprise. We explore that war, where it leaves Afghanistan, the region's geopolitics, Afghanistans relationship with Pakistan and the role of the Taliban. Many see the austere Islamic group as classic freedom fighters, defeating the world's strongest and only superpower. But have they ultimately disappointed many in their time in government.? The country suffers from poverty and near famine. Who is to blame for this terrible situation? Ahmed-Waleed Kakar is no stranger to the country. Of Afghan descent, he is an analyst specialising in Afghan political history and the founder and editor-in-chief of The Afghan Eye @AFGHANEYE : an independent media platform offering English-language analysis of Afghan affairs.

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This week we explore the issues Farhat Amin raises in her new book ‘Smart Teenage Muslimah, an inspirational guide for Muslim Girls’. Farhat is concerned with Muslim girls' challenges in the West and how society impacts their sense of identity and self. Farhat Amin addresses the challenges Muslim women and girls face in Western societies through her engagements. Her writings delve into the unfiltered realities, tackling pressing topics such as the shifting dynamics of the Muslim marriage scene, the objectification of hijab, and the unforeseen impact of modern feminism on women's well-being. Her meticulous research and insightful analysis offer a fresh Islamic perspective on these topics, encouraging readers to question long-held assumptions and engage in meaningful dialogue.

Find out more about Farhat Amin's work and sign up for her newsletter at https://smartmuslima.comPurchase Smart Teenage Muslimah from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/42D20SV
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We often see people claim an action to be kufr (disbelief), for example, neglecting prayer, or they designate a use of language to be a term of disbelief. This leads to questioning a person's iman. A politician endorses a reprehensible act, or a Muslim academic calls for the reform of Islam – these are all discussed as attributes of kufr. So what is disbelief and what is belief, and does every act of disbelief take a person outside of Islam? We take a deep dive into this often misunderstood area and reflect on the differences within classical Islam. Iyad Hilal is a khateeb at many masajid in California, he has formally studied usal al fiqh – Islamic legal theory and is the author of the book studies in usul al-fiqh.Please consider making a donation, however small, to The Thinking Muslim, to receive a share in the reward and to help us make a greater impact. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.thinkingmuslim.com/Donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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There has been an uptick in the number of people converting to Islam recently. This was very noticeable in Ramadan, when it just seemed every day, a young man was becoming Muslim. Imam Ashraf, who leads a congregation in the inner-city London borough of Lewisham, discusses why so many British youngsters are turning to Islam. His Mosque saw over 60 conversions in Ramadan alone. I ask him about the influence of Andrew Tate upon many young men coming to Islam. Imam Ashraf Dabous is an imam at Lewisham Mosque in London. He studied at the Islamic University of Madinah. He also studied privately under various Shuyukh – studying Hanbali and Hanafi Fiqh and other Sciences. And he recently graduated from Goldsmiths University with an MSc in CBT therapy and is a qualified councilor.

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Inspiration from Sami Hamdi. How do we contextualise the current state of the Ummah? And how do we interact with politics?Excerpt from 'Raving in Riyadh - The New Saudi Arabia' with Sami Hamdi

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