Jazakamulaho khayr.

Sunni

I recently read about a study of Muslim blogs by the Home Office that revealed that most British ones obtain the bulk of their news from the Guardian and the BBC, and little comes from Islamic news sources such as Press TV or Al Jazeera. This blog is no exception and it makes me wonder whether the majority of Muslim bloggers are liberals at heart and not staunch Islamists. Very few staunch Islamists I have met read mainstream newspapers or watch the BBC. They overwhelmingly prefer the Islamic media.

Most of the powerful and prominent anti Islamic blogs are not individual but collaborative efforts - mainly run by Zionist outfits. The Muslim community is ineffective at countering them with their own blogs and websites.

The blogs that last the longest are often the ones with affiliations to companies or think tanks. They are more of a notice board or a propaganda tool than the original reasons blogs were founded upon.

The future is only more electronic, and if we don’t have people like you, Br. Yusuf to keep a watchful eye on issues affecting the British Muslims, for instance, then who else? The Telegraph?

Individuals have shut their blogs for various reasons I am sure. But from my own experience, it has more to do with commitment than anything else. I can assure you that if we had stayed with the original 5 people who started MuslimMatters, we would have shut down too. We are now at nearly 25 writers and still sometimes struggle to keep our schedules full. The pressures of keeping up with blogging, constantly and consistently are tremendous. With group blogs, the pressure is shared, which is why MR joined us… sharing his expertise without trying to run a site all by himself.

Sometimes people extend their own specific experiences and views to the general. The Muslim blogosphere is not only alive and kicking, but growing. New and fresh writers joining the fray everyday.

May Allah allow all of us to benefit the Ummah in the way we can, and purify our intentions. .-= amad´s last blog ..Some Advice for Muslim Husbands on Giving Your Wife a Break =-.

Others of us who have also felt like giving up on various occasions have been encouraged to carry on by those wiser than ourselves who cite reasons similar to those you set out.

Though we often wish to head for the hills, we have to be reminded that while silence is sometimes wisdom, it is also sometimes a crime.

So for your “Certainly not” I think we can all say Alhamdulilah.

On the other hand, there is a definite need for frequent re-evaluation of purpose on the part of the writers in this sphere. If gossip, suspicion and back-biting become almost the norm for us, something is definitely wrong.

A balance needs to be struck. We have been given so much guidance on these affairs that really we have no excuse.

May Allah grant us wisdom. .-= Tim´s last blog ..Two key principles =-.

Please do remove that part of my comment which might cause offence as it is incorrect. Thanks

Keep up the good work!

Wa s-salam, Yahya .-= Yahya Birt´s last blog ..Defining Islamophobia today: the state of the art =-.