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The Muslim Council of Britain needs to accept Ahmadis as their own.

8th April 20168th May 2017 admin

By Shamila Ghyas Asad Shah was what one would use as an example for a good human being. The humble shopkeeper from Glasgow was loved by his whole community — Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Well — except a few. We live in a world where it is the loud, violent people like Anjem Choudary who go around telling and trying to convince everyone that all ‘Kaafirs’ [non believers] deserve to die. A world in which popular scholars like Zakir Naik preach that it is “haram” [forbidden] to even wish a Christian ‘Merry…

Female Genital Mutilation: Pakistan’s well-kept secret

6th April 20168th May 2017 admin

By Saima Baig (This is a cross-post from The Nation) On May 5, Nigeria took the historical step of outlawing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and its outgoing President, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the ban as one of his last acts before leaving office. According to the UN, one quarter of Nigerian women and girls have been subjected to FGM, a vile and misogynistic practice that creates many health issues for women. Globally more than 125 million girls and women are affected by this practice, which was banned by the…

Murdered By My Father: A Review

4th April 20168th May 2017 admin

By Iram Ramzan “Someone’s always watching. Trust me.” These are the words uttered by college student Salma in the BBC 3 drama Murdered By My Father, as she warns her boyfriend to stay away before someone finds out that they are dating. We have all been there, have we not ladies? Most of us, from South Asian or Middle Eastern backgrounds, where the notions of honour and shame are so important, have always been — and always will be — on our guards whenever we leave the house. Because no matter…

Suicide bombings in Turkey have changed our lives

31st March 20168th May 2017 admin

By Sofia Demirturk “Whatever would be the age of the murderers, 17 or 27, I know that they were born babies once. Without questioning the darkness that created murderers from those babies, there’s nothing to do, my brothers and sisters.” Rakel Dink at the funeral of her husband Hrant Dink – a Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and columnist assassinated by a Turkish nationalist. Living in Turkey, where suicide bombers were once something we associated with other countries in the Middle East, we are trying to recover from the…

After Asad Shah’s murder solidarity must extend to reformist Muslims

30th March 201625th October 2017 admin

By Rasool Bibi The brutal murder of Asad Shah of Shawlands, Glasgow, on Good Friday has shocked us all. All those who knew him or even encountered him in his shop talk of a peaceful, loving man. Even those who did not know him, having read the tributes, feel deep sorrow and a loss. Hours before the terrifying attack that led to his death, Mr Shah had gone on Facebook to wish his “beloved Christian nation” a “Happy Easter”. Mr Shah had been repeatedly stabbed and stamped on, an indicator…

Terror attacks in Lahore

29th March 20168th May 2017 admin

By Iram Ramzan There is a phrase in Punjabi, which roughly translates as, “The one who has not yet seen Lahore, has not been born.” I certainly felt alive whenever I visited this vibrant capital city of the Punjab in Pakistan. In the past, I have visited my grandparents’ village in Kashmir several times. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, no one with whom I could speak . I felt suffocated, itching for the chance to get out of there as soon as I could. That feeling of misery and boredom would…

The best legacy we can leave Asad Shah is to take sectarian hate crime seriously

28th March 20168th May 2017 admin

By Tehmina Kazi “Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation.” These were the last words of Glaswegian newsagent Asad Shah on his Facebook page, posted on March 24, 2016. Just hours later, this hugely popular man, an Ahmadi Muslim, was brutally attacked. Found outside his shop with multiple injuries, he later died in hospital. The suspect is alleged to have stabbed Mr Shah multiple times, and stamped on his head. A 32-year-old man was arrested in connection with Mr Shah’s death, and…

Brussels attacks: The responsibility to counter jihadism lies with us Muslims

27th March 20168th May 2017 admin

By Shamila Ghyas This is a cross-post from The Nation Another day, another blast. More innocent deaths. At least 34 people were killed after explosions ripped through Brussels airport and metro station. With over a 100 injured, many critically; the toll number is expected to rise. Eyewitnesses say that after hearing the loud boom, they were literally blown back by its force. There was a lot of blood in the elevators as ceilings started to collapse in the affected areas. Just imagine you are at the airport…

Inopportune defensiveness about Islam

24th March 20168th May 2017 admin

By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid This is a cross-post from The Nation Two very significant recent events have evoked identically counter-productive, nay self-defeating, reactions from Pakistani and global Muslims respectively. The Jamaat-e-Islaami led religious parties’ meeting in Mansoora unanimously condemned the Women Protection Act as ‘un-Islamic’ last week, while the Brussels attacks on Tuesday killed 34 people and injured over 200. Both events exhibit the ugliest shades of Islamism, and both were met with defensiveness about Islam from various sections. As has become the norm, every global act of jihadist terrorism…

Welcome to Sedaa

21st March 20168th May 2017 admin

Sedaa – which means voice – is a platform which will feature writers of Muslim heritage. We use the term “of Muslim heritage” because we seek to bring together both those who identify as Muslims, and those who have left the religion. We have set up this website to critique religious extremism, reactionary cultural attitudes, and problems caused by moral relativism in our society. We believe that Islamists and their fellow travellers and apologists must be challenged and opposed. At the same time, as people with Islamic heritage, with Muslim…