Blogistan

This is a post I reproduced, with the author's permission, from IslamiBlog; I thought it relevant as it seems symptomatic of the "squeeze" being put on Muslims in some places even here in the UK. The original, with comments, can be found here, insha Allah.

Picking up from a comment on the last post, I'd like to briefly share my thoughts on 'Ambrose', the University of Manchester Islamic Society's Mosque for the last 10 odd years. It closed down today for building work around it and although it will reopen in 6 odd weeks time, it is widely believed that this is the final move from the University in reclaiming their land.

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Posted by Indigo Jo at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Did anyone else see Ziauddin Sardar on BBC2's Culture Show in the feature on emel magazine last night? He had the gall to criticise "emel" for being too "orthodox", something he's not too keen on, judging by the article they printed by him in which he welcomed the "bogus Jumu'ah" led by Amina Wadud in New York a few months ago, pouring scorn in a style distinctly similar to that of Muslim WakeUp! on those who opposed the event. I don't know about anyone else, but I think it speaks volumes that he thinks emel's orthodoxy is something to criticise, even as it has features on musicians like Sami Yusuf and the boxer Danny Williams - and his own article! There's gratitude for you.

Posted by Indigo Jo at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to write for Blogistan - I'm still looking for more contributors. I'd like to lay down some guidelines in order to improve the usefulness of the blog and the experience of the visitor, insha Allah.

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Posted by Indigo Jo at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The problem which had been affecting comments at this site has now been rectified, al-hamdu lillah; your comments and contributions can now be taken.

Posted by Indigo Jo at 12:55 AM | Permalink

Reposted from Izzy Mo's blog:

Following the success of the Illuminating Faith project in 2005, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is organising a series of exhibitions from April 2006 to March 2007 that celebrate artistic talent in the region. BM&AG is inviting visual artists from across the West Midlands to submit applications to exhibit if they meet all of the following criteria:·

The artist is either a Muslim, or their artwork is inspired by Muslim culture. The artist currently lives in the West Midlands. The artist is available to exhibit their work at BM&AG between April 2006 and March 2007.

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Posted by Indigo Jo at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Why oh why oh why?

Both The Times and the BBC have recently reported on another "honour" killing in the British Muslim community. A disgusting remnant of Indo-Pak life that has sadly been brought over to the "west". The alleged perpetrators in this case are Bangladeshi Muslims.

Non Muslims and non Indo-Pak Muslims fail to grasp the stranglehold such a dim-witted and senseless "back-homelandia" (a phrase coined by Sunni Sister) attitude has on first, and some second, generation, Muslims in the "west".

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Posted by Abu Sofia at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (1)

As a fairly good example of the certain hysterical websites run by immature Muslims I've alluded to in posts announcing the establishment of Blogistan, I found on the MPACUK website this morning a good example of what software developers call a "regression": an old bug which was squashed but which reappeared again. In this case, they seemed to have learned that attacking Muslims, calling them useless and lazy etc., isn't a really effective method of da'wah. In response to a piece in today's Independent, however, they've gone back into hand-wringing and mud-flinging mode. We're too busy fasting to respond to this latest "attack on Islam".

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Posted by Indigo Jo at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (1)

Thank you for visiting Blogistan. This is what I intend will be a Muslim group blog for mainstream, orthodox Muslims, offering commentary on both religious and social issues from a Muslim point of view. I also intend that the blog would have a British focus, although not exclusively so. I would like this blog to represent the true, moderate face of Islam in Britain, and be a counterweight not only to unfair representations in the media, but also to certain media monitoring sites run by immature people who (probably unintentionally) regularly show us in a bad light. I also intend that the site would be free of overheated rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and sectarian propaganda.

This is a call for volunteers; I would particularly like to attract people who are infrequent bloggers (Mas'ud!) and ex-bloggers (br Ahmed!), and people who could offer original commentary within the criteria already mentioned. Please email me at indigojo_uk [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk.

Posted by Indigo Jo at 2:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (1)