The sit-in is over

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

After six days, the sit-in is finally over without any demand concretely met. I don't know to be happy or upset with the end of this issue, but I am certainly happy that none of the sisters that I know fall into those last 30ish of students who had to be "chucked" out of the faculty. 

I don't know who plotted the plan to break this sit-in and I don't know if they are clever or cunning in this plot. For many days, the university has been trying to get the students out. Last night, there was a CUSU (Cambridge University Students' Union) Council meeting to debate among many issues two motions relating to the sit-in (one for and one against). Although it's only some council members and the Presidents and External Officer of each college's JCR (Junior Common Room) and MCR (Middle Common Room) could vote, everyone can speak at the council. So, a big group of the people in the sit-in went out to attend the council meeting to support the motion which starts at 7.15pm. 

At around 7pm, the Registrar of the university issued a letter to them saying that those who trying to go in after leaving the building will be charged as trespassers. So, those who have left the building to attend the meeting, could not go in after that and the door to the building was locked and guarded by the university security. Around 10pm, when they came back after loosing the battle at the meeting, they could not go back to the sit-in, so some of them remain outside the door in the cold. This morning, at around 11am, all of them had to leave the building. More of the story can be found here. 

I personally supported the demands but I do not support the means. Hence, ISOC sent a letter to the Vice Chancellor stating our demands and sent press release to the university's newsletters. We also successfully passed a motion at the meeting last night for CUSU to acknowledge the humanitarian crisis in the region and support any student who want to raise awareness and money to help the situation.

Muslims should be peace-loving bunch of people. We should not disrupt others in the means we use to try to achieve our goal. Islam doesn't teach us that end justifies the means. There are so many other legal channels to get our voice heard. Probably less loud than this but at least we are not taking the rights of anyone away because the sit-in has created inconvenience to the students who use the lecture halls for classes. They have to move to small lecture halls and sat on the floor or stood at the door to listen to the lectures. The fact is that, after a few days of the sit-in, the Gaza issue is not the spotlight but the sit-in. People from sympathising the situation in Gaza as a result of the awareness raised through the sit-in, into hating to want to know more about it now. I don't know how much good the sit-in has done to the issue in Gaza, but it certainly has join in at least 18 other universities in the UK to occupy their universities to make sure that their demands are met. From the poll run by the university, from 2273 voters, less than 50% of the students believe that the university should grant demands 1, 2 and 4 but more than 50% of the students agree with demands 3, 5 & 6, and especially with disinvestment of arm trades. 

Anyway, we hope that our letter to the Vice Chancellor will receive a positive feedback and alhamdulillah this sit-in doesn't create a single noise that the stereotype extremist muslims are among those that created the chaos, even though it is a peaceful sit-in with some disruptions to the normal life of the students and staff of the Law Faculty. There were a handful of them in the sit-in but most of them went to the council meeting, hence they were not among those that had been taken out by the university this morning. 

Image is important because that's how dawah is made through examples and behaviours of the muslims. What I can learn from this is that only praiseworthy action will produce praiseworthy results; if we don't want people to continue occupy other people, we must not first be the occupier; never fight an injustice with another injustice; repel evils with good; do not do what you desire not from other to do to you.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Civil Disobedience

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Can we say that the sit-in in Cambridge is a form of Civil Disobedience?

I have learnt today from a sister that civil disobedience comes with the voluntary submission to the arrest and punishment by the authority, see here. Such is the nobility of a civil disobedience. But if the students demands that the University should not punish them for being disobedient to the authority, the sit-in has lost its nobility.

As students of this University, we signed the Matriculation Registration Form which reads:

"I promise to observe the Statutes and Ordinances of the University as far as they concern me, and to pay due respect and obedience to the Chancellor and other officers of the University"

Hence, the University's General Regulations No. 3 reads:

"No member of the University shall intentionally occupy or use any property of the University or of any College except as may be expressly or by implication authorized by the University or College authorities concerned."

For a student to break a contract after a signature has been put in, automatically, s/he will face the disciplinary procedure. For a muslim to break a covenant, it is as if s/he lower oneself to the status of a hypocrite because the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:"There are three signs of a htpocrite: whenever he speaks, he lies; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is trusted, he betrayed his trust." (Agreed upon).

I do not mean to accuse anyone of being a hypocrite, I just despise the act of breaking a promise. Fair enough, some of them may have forgotten that they have signed the contract with the university on their first day because of the excitement in getting into the university. But, often we forget about all these regulations and rules, we do not try to understand them and find ways to achieve our goals through legal channels by manipulating the regulations so that it favours our side. We lose our intellect and coolness in handling the current situation because of our incompetence in reading, understanding and manipulating these regulation and working our way up the bureaucratic ladder to dialogue with the authority in a diplomatic way.

If we failed in achieving our goal by following the regulations or correct interpretation of civil disobedience, we still can walk away with dignity and inshaALLAH the effort that we put in will gain pleasure and blessing from ALLAH.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Cambridge Sit-in

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Some 100 students of Cambridge University have staged a sit-in or they call it Occupation at the Law Faculty to imitate what other universities across the UK have been doing. Initially the muslims bunch of us are going to join but after a few thoughts and discussions, we decided that this should not be in our name. The sit-in is to demand the university to act on the crisis in Gaza. See here for more information. 

There are a few reasons for us not to join in. Besides the political reasons which I do not wish to publish here, I think fundamentally, as muslims, we should always strive to follow the footstep of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in everything that we decide to do or if we want to do it in the name to Islam. Simply because we are hijabis, like it or not, whenever we go out and do something, people will recognise us firstly as muslims (even if we are doing it individually, not in the name of ISOC), especially when we are in a non-muslim country and muslims are always under the spot light in these recent years. It is already a damaging publicity for some muslims to act in a radical way to demand immediate solution like suicide bombing. We for sure do not want to use this sit-in to demand a shortcut and short-term solution to the crisis. Yes, if this sit-in is successful and the demands are made by the university, it is a good news but is that an example that we want others to learn from us? Does end justify the means?

There is no shortcut in this life and all shortcuts will lead to disaster at the end. Everyone wants to have an easy life, get what they want as quick and as effortless as possible. Yes, we should not waste our time and resources to achieve certain goals, yet, we are not told to do so by radical and extreme means. Muslims are moderate bunch of people. Has the Qur'an not taught us to be the people of the middle way?

"Then We gave the Book for an inheritance to those whom We chosen from among Our servants; but of them is he who makes his soul to suffer a loss, and of them is he who takes a middle course, and of them is he who is foremost in deeds of goodness by ALLAH's permission; this is the great excellence." 

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah al-Fatir (Chapter 35, The Originator) verse 32

Has the Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us to act like extremists? When he (saw) and the earliest group of muslims were tortured, killed, persecuted, boycotted, harmed, oppressed until an extend that the Companions (ra) asked the Prophet Muhammad (saw) when will the help of ALLAH come, ALLAH replied:

"Or do you think that you would enter the Garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them and they were shaken violently, so that the Messenger and those who believed with him said: When will the help of ALLAH come? Now surely the help of ALLAH is near!"

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah al-Baqarah (Chapter 2, The Cow) verse 214

There had never been any extreme or radical action taken by the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Instead, everything was dealt with patience (sabr) because clearly ALLAH is with those who are patient. Shortcut is only taken by those who have no patient. If a shortcut means breaking the rules or creating discomfort or harm to others, that is clearly out of the fold of Islam. So, how can you demand something good by doing something bad? 

"Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord; establish regular prayers; spend out of (the gifts), We have bestowed for their sustenance, secretly and openly; and turn off evil with good; for such there is the final attainment of the (Eternal) Home."

~ The Holy Qur'an, Surah ar-Rad (Chapter 13, The Thunder) verse 22

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught us to repel evils with good actions. Never fight an injustice with another injustice. When a blind Jewish lady cursed and humiliated the Prophet (saw) every morning on the street where the Prophet (saw) passed by daily, did he shout at her? No, instead, he gave her a date to eat. After years of tortured and finally the muslims conquered Makkah, did the Prophet (saw) took any revenge by killing or oppressing the non-muslims who used to do the same to the muslims? No, instead, he wanted good for them, pardoned them and preached them to be good, to follow the teaching of ALLAH.

Muslims don't take extreme actions even in extreme situations because under extreme circumstances, what matter is our patience and reliance on ALLAH. We plot, we pray and we act according to what ALLAH pleases and allows us to do. Whatever the outcomes from our actions done sincerely for the sake of ALLAH and on the path of ALLAH, we have to accept them with gratitude. If we measure the success by the yard stick of the Dunya, we will never be successful because the yard stick of the Akhirah is much more weighty than the Dunya's. 

In the time of crisis, let's pray for the best and act the way our beloved (saw) would act. And ALLAH alone is the One that will give us the rewards that we deserve.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Cambridge is 800 years old

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

On 17th January 2009, University of Cambridge was celebrating its 800th anniversary with a grand slide show on the Senate House and Old School Building, of all the achievements produced by the scholars of the university throughout the history. The fact is that this university has the most number of Nobel Prize laureates compare to any other higher institution across the world. The problem is, how can the university maintain such a reputation when Yale has just crossed Cambridge in the top ranking of the world universities making Cambridge now No. 3 in the world with Oxford trailing from behind?

Looking back at the history of scholarship during the Golden Era of Islam, the achievement in Science, Mathematics, Literature, Philosophy, Medicine, Astronomy, Sociology, Politics, etc., where are the muslims academics and scholars nowadays? From the top of the world at that time to where we are today, what went wrong? This might be a very interesting question for Cambridge to contemplate on if it wished to maintain its reputation for as long as it can.

Wassalam.

Gaza and Iman

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Sorry for not been blogging for a long time. I have been writing my thesis although it's not finish yet it will inshaALLAH come to an end soon, please keep make dua for me.

In the mean time, I have been also following the devastating and heart-breaking disaster in Gaza. What is happening there is the fault of all humanity. No one side only is taking the blame, nor a few parties of people or nations but it is the error done by all humanity in the 20th and 21st centuries. For the countries involved in the WW1 and WW2, for US, UN and British to "give" the Jews a piece of Palestinians land, for the continuing support of many countries all over the world to the US, not having the courage to speak out their stance and opposition to the US and Israel, fear of the economic and military power of the US, for the disunited arab countries and muslim countries, for the weak iman of the muslims all over the world, today we have this grave humanitarian crisis happening in the holy land of three biggest Abrahamic faiths in the world.

Iman is faith, to believe in at least a God. Since there is only one God under the Abrahamic tradition, there cannot be my one God and your one God, but all that we are worshipping is that the one and only the God. The simplest form of iman or faith as clearly said in the Quran consists of three principles:-

1. To believe in the God (which basically means belief in one God)
2. To believe in the Day of Judgement
3. To do righteous deeds

"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

~ The Holy Quran, Surah al-Baqarah (The Chapter of The Cow), verse 62

This simply just means that a human who has faith should only do good deeds (e.g., helping the poor and needy, uphold justice, be merciful, make peace, etc.) because what we do will be asked and judged on the Day of Judgement by the one and only - the God. If this doesn't make sense for you, we shall explain it from the reverse angle? If you believe in a God, a God who has the power over everything, who created the humans and the universe, who is the most merciful and most just, who created also the Day of Judgement to reward those who have done righteous deeds and punish those who have oppressed others and themselves, then, there is nothing to earn the mercy of the God and avoid the wrath of the God on the Day of Judgement except by doing the deeds that the God has prescribed for the humans, which basically are righteous deeds that will do good for oneself and the whole of humanity.

Come back to the crisis in Gaza, I just want to ask everyone (whatever your believe is), look into your heart and ask yourself, is what happening now something right? If you have even an ounce of mercy in your flesh and blood, will you not call for a ceasefire now? How many more sacred lives are we going to take? Knock the door of your faith, of your iman (for my muslim brothers and sisters), what will the God ask us on the Day of Judgement about what is happening now?

Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) told us that, "Whoever of you sees an evil, he must change it by his hand. If he cannot, then he must change it by his tongue, and if he cannot, then he must change it by his heart - and that is the weakest manifestation of faith" (Hadith collected by Imam Muslim). Are we not in the weakest state of iman now for not being able even to voice our discontent and disagreement or even to stop the wrong that is happening now?

Aren't upholding justice, peace and mercy; and forbidding injustice, oppression and killing, righteous deeds in the eyes of the God? Isn't this the teaching that we have learnt about iman? So where is your iman, my dear brothers and sisters? How will ALLAH help us if we don't even have that bit of iman in our heart? How will ALLAH answer our prayers if we don't even try to increase our faith?

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

A break which is not a break

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

I will be taking a break from blogging until I submitted my thesis. This a break from blogging but not a break for me! Please make dua for me that I will get my thesis done as soon as possible.

Apology for making such a decision and thank you for your visit.

Wassalam.

An Iraqi wedding

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

I went to Birmingham for an Iraqi wedding this time. I didn't know what to expect because I've never been to any Arab wedding before and this time, I am asked to be the official photographer for the bride's family. Of course there is no payment charged because I am not a skilled and professional photographer, not even a part-time photographer, not even a single photography lesson or course. I was very involved on the day, not just taking photos, but also helping.

My friend basically wanted a female muslim who can help take picture on her wedding because it is a segregated wedding. The bride and all the women in the segregated-women-only hall didn't wear hijab and they wore very beautiful dresses. The bride and bridemaids wore proper English-styled wedding dresses. The groom and male family wore ties and suits and top hats. They were in the men hall.

This couple basically have done their nikkah 2 years ago but according to the Arab tradition, that is what they call engagement, wedding is after this kind of walimah. They are legally husband and wife according to Shari'ah but can't live together according to the tradition. They also have yet registered in the UK law. So, this wedding was really well-planned and run smoothly. The groom is an Algerian.

We went to the function hall at 12pm to set up the halls, one for men and one for women. The bride went straight to the make-up room and stayed there. At 3pm, guests started to come and food was served at 4.30pm. At 6pm, when the bride was ready, she came in with the bridemaids to meet the female guests. She is mashaALLAH very beautiful. She sat on a stage and everyone came up to greet her. Later, arab wedding songs were played and they started dancing. There was this one Egyptian wedding song that stuck in my head until today - 'arisna, 'arisna; 'arustuh, 'arustuh - which means our groom, our groom, his bride, his bride.

At 8pm, all the ladies put on their hijab and jilbab except the bride and the groom's family, to welcome the groom entering the women hall. By then, many guests have gone and only close families and friends left. They took photos and went up the stage for cake-cutting. Then, the bride were dressed by the bridemaids with a few pieces of cloth to cover her so that she could get into the groom's car without letting other men notice her outfit and make-up. They then went straight to a hotel.

By the time we got back home, it was midnight and we were all hungry. The bride too had to ask her brother to buy her dinner at the hotel before we went home. Alhamdulillah, everything went so well and halal because these 2 families are very practising and well-known among the arab muslim community in Birmingham.

I thought my job is just there but the next morning, we went to the hotel to take out-door photos for the couple. It was a lovely day and the garden at the hotel was massive and beautiful. In the evening, they went to their new flat. The husband was so romantic that he asked his sister to decorate the flat with rose petals to welcome her to the new home. There is this tradition for the newly wedded couple to drink milk and eat dates. The next day, they went to Morocco for honeymoon.

May ALLAH bless their marriage with happiness until they enter the Paradise with their offsprings. Amin.

Wassalam.